Heroes of the Jedi Order
by JediMaster Baggins
Summary: A tale about a Jedi who assisted Revan in defeating the Star Forge threat. Based on BioWare's 'Knights of the Old Republic'. PLZ R&R!
1. Prologue

**Star Wars: Heroes of the Jedi Order**

Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars, Knights of the Old Republic or anything else. It all belongs to BioWare and George Lucas. Well, apart from the new characters. I created them! They belong to me!

_Prologue_

He could hear them calling him in the distance. He could see their figure, but not make out their face. They were coming closer; their voice was getting louder. They were pushing him and moving him all around. Finally, it became so intense that it threw him out of his sleep.

"Jarek!" they said. "Jarek, get up! Now!" They were standing over him, pushing him with their arms. It was a man. He had a lightsaber hanging from his belt, and wore shabby, beige robes. His hair was straight, brown, and went down to his shoulders.

Jarek sat up, still looking at the Jedi in front of him. He could feel the ship shaking and explosions and blaster fire sounding everywhere around him.

"Jarek, it's me. Galnar. Galnar Kasra. Don't you remember?" Everything came back to him. Galnar was another Jedi who had signed up to protect Bastila. Jarek had known him ever since he had become a Jedi himself, and they were close friends. He nodded.

"Great. Hurry up and get dressed. We've got to get out of here!"

"Why? What's going on?"

"We're under attack! The Sith found out Bastila was here and appeared out of nowhere! I don't know how many of them are out there, but we need to get off the _Endar Spire_! The Republic's fate depends on it!" Jarek looked over to the other side of the room. A half dozen Jedi stood there, panicking, all surrounding someone Jarek could not see. But he knew who it was. It was Bastila Shan, the one gifted with an extremely rare gift, what the Jedi called Battle Meditation.

"Get dressed before we leave you behind!" Galnar yelled over the constant explosions outside. "Your footlocker's at the foot of your bunk. Get your lightsaber, your clothes, and let's go!"

Jarek got out of his bunk quickly, looking around still, and headed to the footlocker at the foot of it, next to a mirror. He dressed himself in the normal Jedi robes and quickly picked up his lightsaber. Before he left, he paused to look in the mirror.

Jarek Galon, a tan-skinned, tall Jedi in his late twenties, stood looking back into his own dark, brown eyes. He had shaved his beard and reduced it to a simple goatee now, which he felt looked good on him.

"Come on," Galnar said, and Jarek turned to see the others hurrying out through the door. He caught up with them outside in the corridor, and found dead bodies of both Republic and Sith soldiers littering the floor. But he paid no attention to them; he had to get Bastila to the escape pods. He knew how important she was.

Her Battle Meditation could turn the tables in a war. It was utterly useless in a smaller battle or firefight, but incredibly helpful in a situation like this. She could inspire her allies with this power, and give them will to fight, meanwhile inflicting fear on her enemies, and sucking their morale dry. Unfortunately, this power needed time to prepare, and time was a luxury they didn't have right now.

Jarek tried to keep up with everyone else; even Jedi were afraid now. No one is immune to fear, Jarek thought.

Past this corridor, they reached an intersection. Several Republic soldiers were finishing off a few Sith, which became much easier when the Sith were distracted by Bastila and the others.

After the rest of the Sith had been killed, the Jedi hurried down the corner. The surviving Republic soldiers, however, stayed where they were.

"Aren't you coming?" Jarek asked.

"No, there's not enough room in the escape pods left," he said, and Jarek detected a hint of fear and regret in his voice. "W-we will stay here and assist anyone else who comes along."

"All right," Jarek sighed, and continued with the other Jedi. As he was running, he saw Bastila's face for a brief moment. The last time he saw her, when he first accepted the mission to protect her, she looked very calm, sitting down and meditating. Now he could see panic on her face, and a drop of sweat slide down her temple. Then, she disappeared behind the many Jedi protecting her.

As they were running down this corridor, Galnar in the lead, there was a sudden explosion from the wall, knocking down two of the Jedi surrounding Bastila. They were dead before they hit the floor. Jarek looked up at Galnar, still running, and he gave him a firm look, which told him to keep going--there was nothing he could do.

Several Sith came in from the door ahead, and the Jedi instantly rushed forward. Jarek jumped up and propelled himself from off the wall, his lightsaber above his head, and sliced right through one of the Sith soldiers. He landed perfectly on his feet, and heard two separate thumps behind him, each of both halves of the man. Before he could do anything else, his comrades had disposed of the others. He silenced his lightsaber, but didn't put it back on his belt. Instead, he kept it held firmly in his hand, and followed the others down a few more corners and corridors until they reached the bridge door.

"What's the code for the door?" Galnar asked to the crowd.

"Six-five-eight-three," came what was unmistakably Bastila's voice, considerably calmer than Jarek would have thought. He could still tell, though, there was a slight note of panic and rush in her voice as she spoke. Galnar entered the code at the door, and it whooshed open. At once, the many Sith overpowering the bridge rushed out. Jarek drew his lightsaber, and threw it at one of them. It cut right through him like jelly, and injured another soldier behind him quite severely in the stomach. They both fell to the ground, one dead, one badly injured, and then the door behind them opened.

Jarek turned around to see a man in black robes enter. He was bald, had a plate of armor around his chest, and clutched a lightsaber in his hand.

Two of the last four Jedi protecting Bastila jumped at him, but one was slain almost instantly. Jarek heard a fight behind him in the bridge as well, but the remaining Jedi, a skinny woman with black hair and a ponytail, yelled at them, "Go! I'll hold him off! Get Bastila off of this ship!" Jarek and the surviving Jedi hurried into the bridge, where they stepped over the bodies of the Sith they had just killed. Jarek got one last look at the Jedi with their lightsabers locked together, both pushing with all their might against each other. The door closed.

A few Republic soldiers still stood, although they seemed injured. They stayed where they were, however, and did not follow Bastila's party.

Jarek and the surviving Jedi encountered no more Sith after the bridge; it seemed they were all ordered to go there to find Bastila.

After entering into the starboard section of the ship, and hurrying through a few more empty rooms, they reached a door nobody could get open.

"It's locked," Galnar sighed, clear panic in his voice now. "What now?"

Suddenly, the door opened, and a man with an orange jacket stood at a console in front of it.

"You made it!" the man said. He had greasy brown hair, and some of it was dangling in front of his forehead. "I'm Carth Onasi. There are only a couple escape pods left. You have to--" But blaster fire was heard, and two remaining Jedi protecting Bastila fell to the ground. Instantly, Jarek, Galnar, and Bastila all drew their lightsabers, and Carth hastily shut the door.

Carth looked at the monitor on the console. "Oh no," he said. "A whole squad of Sith troopers have secured the room next to us." Jarek heard him swear under his breath. "You three get into that escape pod and go!"

"What about you?" Jarek immediately said.

"I have to stay here a bit longer. There's one more survivor on this ship. I can't leave her behind. I'll be fine, just go."

Galnar approached the console at their pod and tinkered with it a bit, then they all hurried inside. Jarek sat down and strapped himself in, seeing a last glimpse of Carth before the door sealed.

"Here we go," Galnar said, holding on tight.

Jarek felt the pod shake and heard it fire. He looked out the window and in front of him he saw the planet of Taris. Behind him he heard the blaster fire of the Sith fighters and minor explosions coming from the _Endar Spire._ He saw the planet growing larger ahead, and closed his eyes. All he could do was hope to survive this.

Note: I know it's far from perfect, but it'll get better...I hope. But don't worry; the next chapters will be longer. Hopefully I'll be updating soon.


	2. Alora Danis of the Hidden Beks

Star Wars: Heroes of the Jedi Order  
  
Well, here's chapter 1. Or, chapter 2 if you consider the prologue. Anyway, I've been proofreading and correcting and improving nearly all night, so I think it's turned out pretty good. But, if you haven't played the game yet, turn back because there are major spoilers later on. Although, that's only if you don't want spoilers. Enjoy!  
  
Disclaimer: Blah blah, BioWare and Lucas own all the settings and most of the characters, although Jarek, Galnar, Alora, and anything new is MINE!  
  
Part I: Alora Danis of the Hidden Beks  
  
_When I find out who hit me in the head..._ he thought. It felt like someone had driven a nail into his skull, or a piece of wreckage from the pod landed on his head. _Where am I? What happened? And why am I asking myself?_ He didn't know at this point. Everything was black, he couldn't move, and it was silent. Once he remembered how to function and move his body, he opened his eyes slightly. It was still very dark, although he could still see. He looked around without moving his head, and saw Bastila lying in the dirt next to him. Was she alive? She wasn't moving, and Jarek couldn't see her pulse from where he was. He couldn't see anything else except a fragment of the crater in the ground. Then, everything came back to him. He had crash-landed on Taris, and apparently he survived. He had escaped from a ship...what ship? The _Endar Spire_, wasn't it? Yes, that's right. He had escaped in one of the last escape pods.  
Jarek saw Bastila move slightly. She stayed still for several more seconds, then moved again. She turned her head and saw Jarek. Her face was bruised and scratched, and her hair had filth in it. She didn't say anything, or even smile.  
But at this point, Jarek remembered he and Bastila weren't the only ones who took the escape pod. He looked around for Galnar, though he wasn't anywhere in sight. He could have been somewhere behind the escape pod, or he could have been inside of it. _Oh no,_ he thought. If Galnar was inside the pod, his chances for survival would have been much smaller. Bastila, who appeared to have realize who was missing as well, looked around, but to no avail. Jarek heard her sigh and rest her head again. He couldn't gather enough strength to push himself up, so he just stayed there on the ground.  
As he was lying in the dirt, he recalled everything that happened aboard the Endar Spire. How the Jedi died, how they made it to the escape pods, and how Carth said he had to stay behind. He was waiting for another crewmember to come, the only remaining person--apart from themselves--to survive the attack. Jarek wondered who they were.  
Suddenly, he heard a blaster firing behind him. It didn't sound very far away. Mere seconds after that, someone grabbed him roughly by the foot and started dragging him along. He reached for his lightsaber, but it wasn't on him. He remembered holding it in the pod, and it must have fallen when they crashed. As he was being dragged, he looked up and saw Bastila. She was in the same situation, it seemed. She was feeling around her waist for a lightsaber, but hers was lost as well. He saw a Rodian dragging her by the foot too, and a dark-skinned man with a blaster rifle walking along with them, darting his eyes to Jarek and Bastila from time to time.  
Jarek looked back to the crash site, and saw the pod deep in a large crater not far from where he was before, and several people searching the pod. Jarek couldn't see Galnar anywhere.  
He was so tired and bruised that he couldn't work up the strength to try and escape, so he just let himself be dragged along, and closed his eyes again. He didn't want to go to sleep; he couldn't. But he also couldn't stand up either, so he just rested, wondering (with a panic) where he was being taken.  
Occasionally, Jarek heard blaster fire and saw some men blasting away at small, silvery-white creatures, with incredibly large mouths, hairy backs, and no visible signs of eyes. What were they?  
He heard a gate opening a few minutes after that, and heard some people murmuring amongst each other. He was too tired to open his eyes and see who they were, but they sounded slightly worried.  
He could hear a door opening and felt his body being dragged over icy- cold metal. Moments after that, the door closed and he felt himself being lifted up. He was in an elevator. But before they even reached the top, Jarek drifted off to sleep again, too tired to do anything.  
  
When he opened his eyes again, he saw an electrical field surrounding him. He stood up and looked around. The room was empty besides the two other cells beside him. In one, Bastila Shan stood dazed, her eyelids drooping. In the other, he saw Galnar Kasra, alert and ready.  
"Where...where are we?" Jarek said sleepily.  
"We've been captured," Galnar replied quickly and quietly. "Someone took us from the crash site and to here."  
"Define 'here'."  
"The Lower City."  
"The Lower City?" Jarek repeated, curious.  
"That's what I said, didn't I? The Lower City is where all of Taris' gangs make their safe havens. I don't know which one of these gangs caught us, but they don't seem too eager to let us go."  
"We've...we've been captured?" came Bastila's tired voice. Suddenly, somebody entered the room. The dark-skinned man Jarek had seen before. He was still clutching his rifle, and was wearing heavy armor, a kind Jarek would have thought the military would wear.  
"Hello, you three," he said maliciously. "I expect you know where you are by now?"  
Jarek forced a nod, which was harder than he expected it to be. He couldn't even open his eyes all the way.  
"Good. I am Brejik, leader of the Black Vulkars." Jarek sensed a hint of selfish pride in Brejik's voice as he said this. "And you are Jedi."  
"You realize that just now?" Jarek slurred.  
Brejik gave a hollow laugh. "Don't get too full of yourself, kid," he said. "You might regret it."  
"We'll...we'll get out of here, Brejik!" Jarek said.  
"No, you won't. You've all been sedated, and my men have been kind enough to place neural disruptors on all of you, which prevent you from using the Force to do anything I won't like." Jarek raised his hand, and touched what felt like a halo around his head. "So, in other words, you won't be escaping any time soon."  
"Why have you brought us here?" Galnar said.  
"I was originally going to offer you as a prize in the swoop race. Of course, then I found out you were Jedi. Now, I obviously can't sell Jedi to just anyone, right? Well, I've thought about that. I've decided to sell you. Jedi are very valuable these days. I can put you up for a fine price. That is, if you don't mind?" Jarek didn't answer. He knew better. "Good. Now, I need to know your names."  
"You don't know by now?" Jarek said coldly. "I figured someone as intelligent as yourself would have found some way of identifying us?" Brejik acted as if he hadn't heard these words.  
"You first, then," he said. "What's your name?" Jarek looked at him, and saw he was standing at a console.  
"You seem to be in a dilemma here, Brejik. If you think I'll tell you, you're highly mistaken. You'd have to kill me before I tell you my name, you piece of slime! But that leaves one more problem. If I'm dead, how would you get the information from me?"  
Before the words were out of his mouth, Jarek was experiencing pain beyond anything he had ever felt. It wasn't stopping, and he couldn't move. The pain was so horrible, he couldn't even tell him to stop, no matter how much he wanted to. He was twitching like mad; he could feel it. But he could do nothing about it. Then it miraculously stopped. He looked up to see Brejik with his finger over a button on the console.  
"_Never_ talk back to me!" he said, fuming.  
Jarek didn't answer. "Fine. I will come back to you later." He walked up to Bastila. "Hello, gorgeous," he said. "What is your name?"  
She, too, knew not to answer him. "I said, what is your name?" he repeated  
"I won't give you the satisfaction of an answer, Brejik." Her voice sounded very menacing indeed; something Jarek had never heard from her before.  
Brejik walked back over to the console, anger all over his face, and raised his hand. "I hate to do this to you, beautiful, but even women like you need a lesson in manners!" He threw his fist down on the console and the next thing Jarek heard were Bastila's screams. He knew what was happening, but he couldn't look. He shut his eyes tight, turning his head away from her cell. Her screams alone couldn't describe the pain she was experiencing. Jarek knew how it felt. But the screams nearly made him relive it.  
After a few moments, the screaming stopped. There was a slight pause, in which the only sounds heard were the buzz of the force fields holding them in the cells and Bastila's panting, then Brejik spoke once more.  
"Will no one give me their name?" he said. "Fine. I will come back later, you three, and you better hope I'm in a good mood when I do." He turned around and left, leaving the three of them in silence.  
"We...we have to get out of here," Bastila panted. "What if he finds out who I am?" Jarek knew that was a bad thing. If Brejik and his Vulkars found out who they really were--especially Bastila, they were in trouble. Bastila is the key to winning this war and defeating the Sith, and if they knew she was in the hands of the Vulkars...  
"How can we?" Jarek said. "The Sith might be working with these Vulkars and--"  
"Don't be silly," Galnar said. "The Sith work with someone? They're too independent to ally themselves with anybody, let alone some gang."  
Jarek knew he was right. So he sat down in his cell and the three of them discussed escape plans, since nobody came in and they didn't see any surveillance cameras. Every plan they thought of, however, had at least one flaw. Eventually, several of the Black Vulkars took Jarek, Bastila, and Galnar out of their cells and to a dormitory at another end of the base. They violently pushed the three of them in there, and shut and locked the door.  
There were three beds in this room; one for each of them.  
"Why not?" Galnar said, and he fell onto one of the beds, yawned, and closed his eyes. Bastila and Jarek both did the same, and fell asleep almost instantly due to their exhaustion.  
  
When Jarek woke up, the harsh memory of the previous day came back to his mind. He was still wearing his neural disruptor, which he couldn't take off no matter how hard he tried, and in the morning more Vulkars escorted them all to the prison cells again. After that, Brejik returned, the usual selfish smirk on his face, and greeted them in a fake friendly manner.  
"I think you'll all be very interested in what I've found out about the three of you," he said. "Or will you? Because you already know this, don't you?" The three of them just glared at him. He approached Bastila's cell. "Hello, _Bastila_." He was silent for a few moments to let this sink in. "Yes, that's right. We have the identities of all three of you. You were unmistakably survivors of the space battle overhead, yes? We found a couple other pods as well, but everyone in them were useless to us. So we killed them all. But you...I could tell there was something special about you three. You, gorgeous, are the beloved Bastila Shan, with the rare gift called Battle Meditation. How charming. Is that why your love life is so dry?"  
"My 'love life,' Brejik, is 'dry' because the Jedi do not believe in love. Passion can lead to anger and hate and the dark side."  
"How frightening," he said blankly. "But you two; you were assigned to protect Bastila, right?"  
"And we will protect her as long as we live!" Galnar said.  
"Fortunately, that won't be a problem much longer. I have arrived at an impasse here, you see. Should I sell you two as well? You may not be as expensive as Bastila over here, but very profitable nonetheless. Or, should I just kill you both and leave it at that?"  
"I have a feeling you're too greedy to let so many credits get away like that," Jarek said.  
"Not 'greedy,' my friend. I simply see an opportunity here that I cannot afford to pass up. So, here's what I'll do. I'll tell everyone Bastila will be the prize for whomever wins the annual swoop race coming up, and you two will be sold separately for a small price. But then, heh- heh-heh, I'll tell all the fools what you really are--Jedi. Oh, the looks on their faces will be priceless!" Brejik closed his eyes and laughed. "After you three have been withdrawn, we'll be going to a little, black market...." Brejik laughed maliciously. "I hope you don't mind going home with the highest bidder?" Nobody spoke. "You should be happy I am even telling you of your fate! Well, you ungrateful slimes, I'll be leaving now, and leave you three in silence to think it over, and maybe think about who you'd like to go home with. Too bad you won't have a choice." Brejik turned to leave, and sealed the door behind him when he did.  
"We're doomed," Galnar said.  
"Don't say that! We'll find a way to get out of this! Remember what Carth Onasi said aboard the _Endar Spire_? He was going to wait for the other survivor?"  
"Brejik said he killed the others he found," said Bastila. "Remember? It's highly unlikely that anyone else would have escaped him."  
"But what if someone did?"  
"If they did, how would they even make it into the Lower City? The planet is overrun by the Sith. And even if they did make it that far, how would they ally themselves with one of these gangs? And after that--"  
"Bastila, I think we know what you're getting at," Galnar interrupted.  
"So let's just wait for the big swoop race. It's all we can do."  
Over the next few days, Jarek, Bastila, and Galnar spent their time in the cells or in their dormitory. As usual, they discussed flawed plans for escaping, which were all thrown away when they found any sort of impassable obstacle. At long last, three heavily armed Vulkars escorted them into Brejik's office, where he sat writing something on a piece of paper.  
"The race is this afternoon," he said. "You are to be brought up to the swoop track now, and will remain there until the race is over and I tell the fools what you really are. You need to know no more." The three of them were escorted out again, neural bands still strapped tight to their heads, to the swoop track. This time, there were nearly a dozen Vulkars escorting them out, and Jarek had to ask why.  
"There was a break-in yesterday," replied one of the Vulkars. "Someone stole the swoop accelerator and killed Brejik's assistant."  
"Swoop accelerator? That's cheating!" The Vulkar laughed.  
"So?" He shook his head, and they were placed in three separate cages at the track. These cages did not have electrical fields around them, though. They were actual cages with bars. This might make it easier for them to escape. After the Vulkars secured them inside their cages, they waited for a couple hours, and then the racers and the spectators flooded in. Jarek was very nervous; what would happen?  
Then, the door opened again and a tall, thin woman with brown hair entered. Jarek's jaw dropped.  
"No," he whispered. "It can't--Bastila! It's--it's _her_!" Bastila looked over to the entrance, and saw her too.  
"Oh, my," she said. "It _can't_ be! She survived?"  
"I told you someone would come for us!"  
The woman approached the desk where the announcer stood, and spoke to him. But before anything else happened, all sound faded. Jarek couldn't hear her talking to the announcer. He couldn't hear the crowd murmuring and talking excitedly about the race. He couldn't hear the swoop bikes zooming past in the distance. All he could hear was silence. His eyelids drooped, his feet felt weak, and his brain emptied.  
Brejik sat--though Jarek could not see it--over in the corner, adjusting the neural disruptors and amplifying them.  
"And your name is?" said the announcer.  
"Alora Danis," replied the woman.  
"Okay, and you're with...the Hidden Beks, is that right?"  
"Yes," she said quickly.  
"Okay, good. Now, you'll have to wait a moment while the other racers do their runs first, and then you can get out there and hit the track! Figuratively, of course." The announcer handed Alora a piece of paper, and she sat down next to the other racers, nervously looking at the prisoners occasionally.  
Redros, the Black Vulkar champion for three years, went first. Alora watched him on the view screen floating in the air. He was swerving in and out, dodging all of the obstacles and trying to hit as many accelerator pads as he could. She was studying his piloting, trying to possibly improve her own skills. Soon he had finished with a time of 0:35:52. Alora could beat that. She had a secret, if you could call it that. Almost all of the racers knew the Beks had the prototype swoop accelerator, but they couldn't do anything about it, fortunately.  
After several more racers completed the course, Alora's name was heard over the P.A. She stood up and walked into the next chamber and to the actual track. She got into her swoop bike she got from Gadon Thek, the Hidden Bek leader, and put on her helmet. The track seemed much longer and dangerous than it did when she watched the others racing. She felt intimidated sitting in the cockpit, looking at the other professional racers, sharp and experienced. She ignored the feeling and prepped the bike. Some of the other racers and spectators gave Alora the thumbs-up (those who had thumbs, at least), while others made rude signs with their hands and booed her. She didn't care. She had to get Bastila and the other Jedi Brejik had captured.  
She looked up at the light floating in midair. It glowed red...yellow..._green_! She sped off. Instantly, she was dodging in and out, avoiding the obstacles, but still trying to hit the accelerator pads. Every time she would fly over one, it would give her a small boost. She zoomed past obstacles left and right, constantly fearing slamming into one and flying throw the glass, even though she knew it wouldn't happen.  
She shifted into second gear. Then third.... Then fourth.... She was swerving around like crazy to avoid the many obstacles. Her eyes widened then shut tight as she ran right into one of them. It did not stop her, though; she only slowed down, and whatever it was she ran into was sent flying into the wall. She hit a couple more accelerator pads to gain back her speed, and finally saw the end of the track. Many people were cheering and waving their hands or booing, and a floating droid held up a checkered flag.  
As she crossed the finish line, she heard a horn blow and a crowd cheering all around her. As she got out, she saw the crowd in the stands standing up and cheering, while some others booed her.  
She did it. She won. It was that easy. Or, she hoped it was. She returned to Brejik and the other racers. The Beks cheered her again, while the Vulkars merely scowled at her or ignored her.  
"Yes, yes, congratulations," came Brejik's whiny voice from behind. Alora turned around and saw him in front of her. "I bet you're very proud of yourself." He cleared his throat. "People," he said to the crowd, "I'm sure you are all very amazed by this record-breaking time Alora just performed--" the crowd cheered even louder, "--and I'm sure you'd love to see her take home the prize, but.... I'm sorry to say that I must withdraw the victory prize."  
"What?" came a few angry voices from the crowd. Alora heard many things like "You can't do that!" or "You piece of filth, Brejik!"  
"I know you are all disappointed, but I have discovered something extraordinary about these prisoners--they are no ordinary soldiers. They are all, in fact, Jedi from the battle above that occurred recently. Seeing as they are so dangerous, I must withdraw the prize."  
"Just give them to me," Alora said angrily. "Now."  
Jarek could hear this. Her voice was very distant, but he could hear it. He could hear the crowd booing and yelling, and Brejik trying to calm them. He was able to regain his strength; enough to stand straight and open his eyes all the way. He saw Brejik looking nervous, and Alora standing and glaring at him.  
"I will sell them, and there's nothing you can do about it, silly girl!"  
"Maybe not," Jarek heard himself say, "But I can." He summoned the Force and used it to push away the guard in front of his cage and open it. He jogged over to the other cages and opened them both, freeing Bastila and Galnar.  
"What? But--but--the neural disruptors--"  
"You underestimate the strength of a Jedi's mind, Brejik," said Bastila, removing her halo. "A mistake I'm afraid you won't live to regret."  
"I think not! Vulkars! Kill them! Kill them all--the Jedi, the swoop racer--all of them!"  
Jarek summoned his lightsaber with the Force, drew it, and killed a Black Vulkar who came charging at him. He did a front flip over another Vulkar, backstabbed him as he was running, and charged at Brejik. Brejik, though, was prepared. He whipped out his double-bladed vibroblade and parried Jarek's attack. Fortunately, Jarek wasn't alone in fighting him. Alora came running up to attack, but Brejik pushed away from Jarek and blocked it.  
Galnar and Bastila, meanwhile, were finishing off the Vulkar racers, and told all the spectators to get out.  
Alora, who had been thrown back by Brejik, started charging at him again, and Jarek swung his lightsaber high. Brejik spun around, cut Alora deep in her side, and blocked Jarek's attack. Their blades became locked together, both of them pushing against each other with all their might, trying to free themselves.  
"You see?" Brejik said, full of pride and anger. "I can't even lose to a Jedi!"  
"We'll just see about that, Brejik," Alora grunted. Jarek, taking advantage of Brejik's momentary distraction, used the Force to push Brejik away, flipped over him, and stabbed him before he hit the ground. Brejik had dropped his vibroblade, which landed beyond his reach.  
Jarek silenced his lightsaber and approached him.  
"So," Jarek said. "You _can_ be defeated. Look how far your selfishness and anger has gotten you. It only leads to--"  
But Brejik spat in his face. "How...dare you...spew that Jedi...rubbish...at me!" he said weakly.  
"I'm sorry, Brejik. This was your choice." Brejik scowled at Jarek for one more moment, then grunted softly, and his eyes became empty, his body motionless. Jarek looked into his eyes and knew he was dead. For a moment he wished he hadn't died, but it wouldn't have done any good; Brejik was too spoiled to be turned now.  
Jarek removed a double-bladed lightsaber from his corpse, which he knew was Bastila's. But there was something else he found on the corpse--a vibroblade with a red hilt. This was his father's vibroblade! He had taken that sword from his father's cold hands after he had died. It was his most prized possession, and he dared not use it in combat, for the fear of losing it was too great. It was all he had to remember his father by.  
"I believe this is yours," he said, handing the double-bladed lightsaber to Bastila. She took it without a word, and her, Jarek, and Galnar approached Alora and helped her up.  
"We have to get out of here," she said. "I'll take you to my hideout. I had planned on going there after I rescued you."  
"_Rescued_?" Bastila said arrogantly. "I don't know if you noticed, but we managed to free ourselves. You--"  
"Bastila," Galnar said. "I think that's enough. Alora, are you the only one from the _Endar Spire_ to survive?"  
"Apart from yourselves? No. Carth Onasi made it as well."  
"Carth is alive?" Galnar said, sounding extremely relieved.  
"Good," said Bastila. "This is very good news. With Carth, maybe we can find a way to get off this planet." "Come on, I'll take you there." Something had finally worked out for once, Jarek thought. 


	3. A Matter of Trust

Yay, Chapter 2! READ IT!!!!

Disclaimer: If I owned any of this (apart from the new characters created by ME, their actions by ME, and dialogue by ME) I would be charging people to read it. Fortunately for you, it's free! Enjoy.

Chapter 2: A Matter of Trust

Alora led Galnar, Jarek, and Bastila out of the swoop track and through the Lower City until they reached an elevator. At the top was a Sith guard at the elevator. When he saw them, he held out his hand to halt them.

"Who are you?" he said, eyeing them suspiciously--well, he probably would be if Jarek could see through his helmet.

"Hey, I've got the proper security papers," Alora said. She took out some papers and handed them to the guard, who quickly read through it.

"Okay," he said. "Get out of here." So they left, Jarek seeing the Upper City for the first time. They continued down the hovering streets and into an apartment complex. Inside, Jarek saw a half dozen aliens roaming the apartment ring.

"This is where all the illegal aliens--literally--live," Alora explained. "Everyone's real prejudiced against aliens, so they go here to seek refuge." They entered the apartment on the other side of the ring where Carth, a young, blue Twi'lek, and a large Wookiee stood waiting inside.

"Bastila!" Carth said. "You're alive! And you two…."

"We made it," said Jarek. "Glad to see you did, too."

"So, what happened down there?" Carth asked.

"I won the swoop race," Alora said, "But Brejik wasn't too anxious to let the prisoners go, so I rescued them."

"Again with the rescuing?" Bastila said haughtily. "Don't you remember we were the ones who freed ourselves?"

"Actually, Bastila," Galnar interrupted. "Jarek freed himself. He unlocked our cells and let us out, remember?"

"Yes, well, I think--"

"I know this is new for you, Bastila, but a leader isn't supposed to berate her troops like that," Carth said quickly.

"Carth!" Alora said. "Don't speak to your commanding officer like that!" It was obvious only Jarek realized this was a joke.

"You two need to stop it," Galnar said. "We can't get too wound up on who's in charge here. We'll have to work together to get off of this rock."

"Yes, I suppose you're right," Bastila said. "Nobody needs to be in charge anyway. Alora, what have you found out about this planet?"

"Well, there's this guy," Alora said. "His name is Davik Kang. He's kind of the local crime lord here. They say he's got the fastest ship in the Outer Rim; he calls it the Ebon Hawk."

"That may just be our ticket out of here," Jarek said, hopeful.

"But there's a problem, see. The Sith have automated laser cannons orbiting the planet. No one is allowed to leave or land on this planet. If anyone tries to, they'll be instantly disintegrated by the cannons."

"I'd definitely call that a problem," he said.

"I suppose we could ask around the cantinas and see if anyone there knows anything."

"All right, then," Galnar said. "Let's go."

"Wait," Jarek said at once. "What about Bastila?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, aren't the Sith looking for her? If she comes too, they'll take her in."

"You're right," Galnar said. "You'll have to stay here. Carth, come with us."

"If you say so." So Jarek, Alora, Galnar, and Carth left, leaving Bastila behind in safety. After the apartment door closed behind them, a green Twi'lek approached them.

"Excuse me," he said. "Could I have a few minutes of your time?"

"Er, sure," Galnar said.

"Are you the rider who won the swoop race in the Lower City?" he said, looking at Alora.

"I--I am," she said, obviously confused.

"Canderous Ordo wants to meet you in the cantina."

Jarek gave Alora a quizzical look, as he had no idea who this Canderous was.

"Canderous?" she said. "The Mandalorian mercenary working for Davik?"

"That would be him."

"What does he want?"

"He just told me he wants to see you in the cantina."

The four of them exchanged glances.

"Okay," said Alora. "Fine."

"A wise choice. He's waiting in the Upper City cantina." The messenger turned around and hurried out.

Jarek, Alora, Galnar, and Carth all went around the apartment ring and into the elevator. As they were descending, Jarek looked out the glass and saw the beautiful Upper City leveling with them.

The setting sun glazed the Upper City streets with a sleepy and romantic look about them, and when they got out, Jarek could see the orange sky around the sun.

The four of them walked north, and passed a store that was practically empty, apart from the owner of the store. The owner, a dark-skinned woman dressed in shabby orange robes, waved at Alora, who waved back.

"You know her?" Galnar whispered.

"That's Kebla Yurt, owner of the Equipment Emporium. She knows me because of the duels from the cantina."

"Duels?" Jarek said curiously.

"Oh, I competed in the duels here. We made a lot of credits. That reminds me, when we get back to the apartment you two can get your cut."

"No, that's all right," Galnar said. "We don't really need it. It's everyone's money."

"If you insist," Alora said. Jarek avoided her eyes. He never imagined her this...nice.

"Here we are," she said. They entered the cantina, staying a safe distance away from the Sith guard at the entrance, and were all greeted by the smell of food and the chatter of customers. The atmosphere was friendly enough, but Jarek sensed something odd about it.

There was a card match going on at the table in the center of the entrance hall, where several spectators stood watching eagerly.

"Pazaak," Jarek said. "Fun game. I used to play it a few years ago."

"You don't anymore?" Alora asked.

"Too much going on now. Is that him?" Jarek pointed to a man in a dusty brown jacket and a tattoo on his arm who was sitting down on a stool at the bar.

"That's him." As they approached, Canderous turned around and stood up.

"So, you're the hotshot who won the Lower City swoop race, correct?"

"I am. You're Canderous?"

"The one and only. Look, I need to talk to you. It's important, so listen good. You know Davik, right?"

"Of course," Alora said.

"And his ship, the Ebon Hawk? Well, I have a proposition for you. What would you say if I told you that you could find a way to get off this rock, and get the fastest starship in the Outer Rim while you're at it?"

"What?"

"I have a plan. If you help me, we can both get of this sorry excuse for a planet and steal the Ebon Hawk."

"Why are you asking me?"

"Because, I saw you going at that swoop race. You were real good, kid. Daring, too. And that's why I think you'd do this job for me. I mean, if anyone is willing to risk their lives racing on a prototype swoop accelerator--"

"How do you know about that?" Alora said. Canderous only smiled slyly, but didn't answer her.

"--would break into the Sith military base and steal the launch codes for the laser cannons orbiting the planet."

"The Sith keep the launch codes in there?" Carth said.

"What, you think they keep them in their sandwiches?" Jarek tried to stifle a snort, but Canderous didn't seem to be paying attention. "Look, if you do this for me, we can both get off this rock and find somewhere...private...to hide out." Canderous let out a short wolf whistle to Alora.

"Hey," Carth said angrily, "You show her some respect or we'll end this conversation minus a few teeth!" He waved a fist at Canderous.

"Oh, I see," Canderous said. "You're already taken. Look, do you want to get out of here or what?"

"And, uh, why haven't I heard one good reason for us to trust you since we first arrived?" Carth said.

"I agree," Jarek said, eyeing Canderous distrustfully. "We've got no way to trust this...Mandalorian."

"Look, I want to get out of here as much as you do. My patience is running short for eliminating Davik's weak enemies. Mandalorians don't do small-time mercenary jobs! But now that I've finally got enough information, we can do it. I just need you."

"You can't do it yourself?"

"I would," Canderous said, "but if I did it, the Sith would send a dozen armed guards to break into Davik's estate and steal them back. They know who I work for; everybody does. But nobody knows you. Not the Sith, at least. So if you can do this, we could get away. I don't think a few Jedi like yourselves would want to stay here forever." Jarek, taken aback by the comment, tried to conceal the lightsaber beneath his jacket even further. How did Canderous know he was a Jedi? He had been given normal clothes after he escaped from Brejik.

"But, how would we even get in to the military base?" Alora asked.

"I've got that sorted out. Janice Nall, the owner of the droid shop here, has a custom job made specially for Davik. It's a T3 unit, a top-of-the-line astromech droid. It's made to be able to open locks like the one on the front door. Just tell her Davik sent you, and she should give it to you."

"And, we're just supposed to trust you?" Carth said.

"We've got no other choice," Alora said. "We'll have to trust him."

"No," Jarek said. "He's a Mandalorian! He'll betray us the moment we've got our backs turned! His kind can't be trusted!"

"How do you know?" Alora said.

"I...don't." Jarek sensed no deception from this Canderous, but he wasn't willing to risk his life for a Mandalorian. He'd had enough trouble in his life with Mandalorians already, and he wasn't planning on making the same mistake twice.

"I think we can trust him," Alora said. He knew it was the only way to get off Taris, but he was still reluctant to agree.

"Good. Here, you can borrow a few extra credits from me incase you don't have enough for the droid." Canderous dug in his pockets and handed Alora 500 credits.

"Thanks."

"Hurry, then, if you want to leave. I'll be waiting right here."

Canderous sat back down at the bar, and they left. As they were headed to the droid shop, everyone remained silent. Jarek figured they were all thinking about Canderous' offer in their heads--he was.

The four of them reached the droid shop at the other end of the North Upper City without any problems from the Sith; it appeared they didn't know who any of them were.

Jarek was surprised to see that the droid shop was empty. The only person inside was a young female Twi'lek behind the desk at the other end. When she saw them, she gasped.

"A customer!" she cried in her native language. "Come in, come in! I--" the Twi'lek cleared her throat. "I'm Janice Nall, and welcome to my shop! Is--is there something I can help you with?"

"Actually, yes. Davik sent us to, er, get a--"

"Oh, yes! The T3-M4 unit he asked for! Of course! He's over there." Janice pointed to a silver droid in the corner, who sat beeping merrily and spinning his 'head' in all directions.

"That must be it."

"Great! So, that'll be two thousand credits." Alora stopped digging in her pockets at these words.

"I'm sorry?" she said.

"Two thousand credits. You can pay for that, right? You work for Davik!"

Jarek looked at Alora. By the look on her face, he could tell she remembered the money Canderous gave her at that point. "Oh! Of course." She took out the money from her pocket, and handed them to Janice. She stood looking at the many credits for a few moments, then stuffed them under the desk and smiled.

"So, you just go over there and take him. He'll follow you, don't worry." Alora gestured for the droid to come over, and it instantly rolled over to them.

"Thank you for coming today!" Janice cried. "Have a great day." Everyone left the shop, but paused as they started toward the military base.

"Um, don't you think this looks a little…odd?" Alora said. "It might look unusual for so many of us going up there."

"I'll go back," Carth said. "The Sith in there might recognize me. I am the Republic's best star-pilot, after all." Jarek detected the slightest hint of pride in Carth as he said this.

"All right," Galnar said. Carth turned and walked back in the direction of the apartment complex and disappeared out of sight.

Everyone else walked (as inconspicuously as they could) to the military base entrance.

"Okay, little guy," Alora whispered. "Do your stuff."

The droid rolled up to the door, whipped out some tools, and got to work. Sparks flew and smoke spilled as the droid picked the lock. When it was done, the door whooshed open, and behind it was an empty elevator.

"Let's go," Galnar said, and they all entered the elevator, even T3.

"No, little guy," Alora said. "You need to go back to the apartment. Don't want you getting too badly scratched up on the first day. Just follow Carth's path, okay?" The droid beeped gloomily, and turned around to go back.

Galnar pressed a button, the doors closed, and they ascended. Jarek took his lightsaber off his belt, clutched it tightly in his hand, and waited. When the door opened, they saw a young Twi'lek behind a desk near the front. She gasped.

"You three! Who are you?"

"Er, nobody," Alora replied. "We just got lost."

"Lost? Ha! If you got lost, how could you have opened the door? Look, just tell me who you are! I've got an alarm just under this desk, and--and I'm not afraid to use it."

"Okay, fine," Galnar said. We're looking for...something, and we don't intend to let anyone get in our way." A small smile sparked on the Twi'lek's face.

"You--you're Rebuplic?"

The three of them exchanged nervous glances.

"Yes."

"Really? Great! Please, kill me a few Sith while you're in here."

"I'm sorry?"

"I'm not really Sith. I was taken in by them and got hired at this low-level, low-paying desk job here. They treat me like dirt. I've been waiting so long for someone to come and just...teach them a lesson! Just, please, hold your blaster fire until I leave."

"All right," Jarek said, and they moved out of the way.

The Twi'lek hurried into the elevator and whispered, "Thank you!" before the doors closed.

Jarek drew his lightsaber. Alora went up to the desk and looked at the monitors.

"Okay, there doesn't seem to be anything heavily guarded around here. Maybe the launch codes aren't--wait! There's an elevator on the other side. But…."

"More bad news?" Jarek said.

"Unfortunately, yes. There's a heavy assault droid there, guarding it. I can also see a couple turrets. We'll never get past them unless.... Just a second." Alora took off her backpack, set it on the desk, and pulled out a few computer spikes. She took one and inserted it into a slot in the desk, and went to work.

"Okay," she said. "Hacked into the system. Now, to just find the right one…. There it is! Okay…now, I disable…you! Ha-ha! Now, to unlock…got it! Okay, guys, I disabled those turrets and opened the elevator, but can't do anything about that assault droid."

"Well, what are we waiting for? It's been too long since I've had a good fight."

"Okay. There's one path we can take without attracting too much Sith attention. Most of them are in the barracks. Follow me." Alora picked up the second vibroblade she had set down, and led the others straight down the corridor as quietly as she could. They reached a door at the end, where Alora paused and held up a hand.

"There's two sentry droids in here. I can take them. You two just stay here." Jarek and Galnar remained where they were. Alora took a deep breath and opened the door. Two sentry droids stood waiting ahead, but Alora was prepared. She ran at them, held out both her vibroblades, and cut off both droids' heads before they had time to identify her.

She put a finger to her lips, gestured for them to follow her, and turned right. She opened the next door, which revealed another sentry droid in the corridor. Jarek killed it by throwing his lightsaber at it, cutting off its leg.

"Come on," Alora whispered. The three of them ran past the smoking droid, and down the corridor until they reached another door. The keypad next to it glowed green, signaling that the door was unlocked.

"What?" Jarek asked when Alora stopped at it.

"That assault droid is in there. It's got a shield activated, too, which we should be able to take out with a few swipes."

"All right," Jarek said. "Improvise, guys. We can take it down quickly if we can surprise it." Alora nodded, opened the door, and they all charged into the room. Jarek flipped over the droid, swinging his lightsaber above its head and getting a few good hits at the shield. Alora and Galnar ran from either side of the droid, and with their attack, the shield disappeared into thin air, and the droid turned to face them.

"Move!" Jarek yelled, doing a backflip to avoid the blaster fire. He caught the smallest glimpse of Alora and Galnar diving out of the way of the blaster bolts before he landed. There was a slight pause, in which the droid was most likely deciding who to attack first. It raised its blasters at Jarek once more, and he turned and ran. He jumped up, put his feet on the

wall, and ran across it, the blaster fire hitting around him, but him. Then, gravity kicked back in, and Jarek fell back down to the ground, landing perfectly on his feet. The droid didn't stop shooting though, and one of the bolts hit Jarek in the arm. The impact was so strong it pushed him to the ground. In too much pain to get up, Jarek lay there, defenseless, on the ground.

The droid raised its blasters again, about to fire, when Galnar distracted it by charging at it. The droid turned and shot at him instead, both repeaters firing constantly. He tried to block the fire, and was partially successful, until one bolt hit the hilt of his lightsaber, shattering a fraction of it. Galnar stopped in his tracks

"NO!" Alora yelled as Galnar was instantly filled with blaster bolts. Jarek's jaw and Galnar's body fell down at the same moment. Galnar's eyese were empty and helpless. Alora jumped at the droid, cutting its arm off with one of her vibroblades, and impaling it with the other. Her vibroblade stuck inside the droid, which began malfunctioning; it was twitching and jerking everywhere. Electricity started surging from the injury, and soon it exploded, sending Alora hard into the wall.

Neither Jarek nor Alora recovered from their shock anytime soon, but when they did, she helped Jarek to his feet. Jarek hurried over to Galnar, who was sprawled across the floor. Jarek didn't even remember the original color of his robes anymore, as every inch of them were stained red. Galnar's eyes and mouth still open, Jarek picked up his head and cradled it in his arms. A tear dropped from Jarek's cheek and mixed with the mass of red, becoming unnoticeable.

Alora seemed too shocked to speak. All she did was stand over Galnar, her mouth open as well. Jarek tried to stifle his sobs, but felt that it was useless, and sat there cradling

Galnar's head, tears dripping every second.

"What's with all the ruckus?" A Sith officer had just emerged from the barracks, and, upon seeing Alora and Jarek, drew his sword.

Jarek looked up, anger written on every inch of his face, and saw the Sith. He stood.

Without a word, he charged at the soldier, yelling, and skewered him on his lightsaber, though it went right through his body. More Sith seemed to have heard the noise and came out. Jarek slaughtered them all.

Alora was still silent when Jarek came back. As much as he wanted to use the Jedi Code to calm himself down, he didn't. The sleeves of his robes were drenched in red, from both the blood of Galnar and the Sith soldiers.

Jarek picked up Galnar's lightsaber. A fragment of the hilt was missing, revealing the green crystal in the center. Jarek threw threw it, hard as he could, at the wall, though it did not break. Jarek kneeled on the gorund, put his hands on his head, and let out a long, angry yell.

"I'm sorry," Alora said weakly. She didn't know what else to say.

He had known Galnar for years; ever since he had first become a Jedi. Now he was gone. Jarek tried to calm himself by remembering that Galnar had become one with the

Force, and that now he was more powerful than he ever could have been being human. Even that could not help. Finally, he wiped the tears off his face and said, "Let's go," without looking at Alora. They both entered the elevator, and Jarek let Alora close the door. He didn't look at Galnar's body.

As they were ascending, Alora put a hand on Jarek's shoulder. "I'm sorry. I-I really am." Jarek nodded, and pulled himself away from her hand, which she quickly removed.

The door opened, and a man in black robes stood with his back against them. He turned when he heard the noise. His eyes widened when he saw them, and visibly tightened his grip on the double-bladed sword he held.

"Who--who are you? Wait--you," he said, looking at Alora. "The Force is strong with you, child." He looked down at her vibroblade. "Why have the Jedi let you out of their

grasp so easily? Or--do they not know yet?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, but I'll kill you anyway!"

"Anger," he said, closing his eyes and inhaling. "Yes, feed your inner darkness. But even the dark side cannot save you now. By killing you, my master will surely reward me with my lightsaber." He raised his blade at Alora. She parried his attack, and Jarek attacked from the side. With one end of his blade, the dark Jedi blocked Jarek's lightsaber, and with the other end, he jabbed at Alora, who quickly jumped out of the way. The dark Jedi pushed Jarek back, and spun around, his blade spinning with him above his head, and took another swing at Alora. She dove to the side, narrowly missing the razor-sharp blade, and landed painfully on the solid ground.

Jarek, who had forgotten about the pain in his left arm, tackled the dark Jedi, and stabbed him before he had time to react.

Weakly, the dark Jedi raised his blade at Jarek, who rolled to the side just in time. The man groaned, then fell silent. Alora stood up and searched his remains.

"Find anything?" Jarek said, his anger easing a bit.

"Yeah. The launch codes."

"So, Canderous wasn't lying." Jarek looked around the room. There were a couple of footlockers on either side of the room, and in front of him he saw dozens of extremely large monitors attached to the wall. There were so many the ceiling had no doubt been raised. They all showed different parts of the base--obviously surveillance photos. On one screen Jarek saw the severed remains of the two sentry droids near the entrance, and in another he saw one of the barracks. There were still some Sith and a couple of droids active in here--this must have been one of the rooms they skipped, as nobody seemed alerted to any kind of danger. Jarek looked in the footlockers. There were a few hundred credits, some computer spikes, and armor inside. Amazed, Jarek took everything out and handed it all to Alora, who stuffed it into her backpack. After collecting everything they needed, they returned to the elevator. As they were descending, Alora asked Jarek something. "What did he mean…about me being strong in the Force?"

"Oh. That," Jarek said nervously. "I never told you, did I? When I first met you, after we had been freed and I took off the neural disruptor, I could feel and see the Force exuding from you. No doubt Bastila felt it too, but she didn't say anything."

"Something happened when I met you, too."

"Oh, really?" Jarek said, intrigued.

"Yeah. I had this weird dream…I think it was a vision. Bastila was fighting someone. A dark Jedi. You were with her."

"A…dark Jedi?"

"Yeah. I think it was Darth Revan."

"Revan?" Jarek repeated. "How do you know about…him?"

"Oh. Carth told me, when we first arrived." Jarek rubbed his chin. This was odd. Why was Alora having visions of Darth Revan?

"Have you had any others?"

"One other. When I first landed on Taris."

"I see," Jarek said, pondering this. Before they could say anything else, the door opened and they saw the scattered bodies on the floor. Jarek tried his best to ignore Galnar's corpse as they headed back to the entrance.

"There's only two of you," Carth said when Jarek and Alora returned to the apartment. He opened his mouth to say more, but noticed Jarek's red sleeves. "What happened down there?"

Jarek didn't say anything. Instead, he went into the bathroom and washed off his sleeves.

"Galnar, the other Jedi…. He...."

"He didn't make it," Carth finished. He swore again. "If only I came! Maybe it wouldn't have happened." Carth's soldier instincts had kicked back in. The "leave no man behind" kind. Jarek didn't care. He only wanted to.... Well, he didn't really know what he wanted. All he knew was that he didn't want to be here. Not now.

"Nevermind, Carth," Alora said. "Sometimes there's nothing you can do." Carth shook his head and sat down on a chair.

As Jarek stood washing off the blood stains on his sleeves, the images of Galnar's death replayed in his head. He knew there was nothing anyone could have done. It was meant to be this way. It was all the Force, he decided. His anger lifted a bit, he recited the Jedi Code to himself, and continued washing.

Meanwhile, Bastila was talking to Alora about what that dark Jedi had said in the military base.

"I noticed it as well," Bastila said. "Though, I didn't know what it could be. I can feel the Force flowing from you every time you're near. Everything you've done--escaping the Endar Spire, for one. Then, you found out about me, found out how to get to me, and then--"

"Rescued you," Alora said, but hastily continued before Bastila could protest. "So, what are you saying exactly? That I can use the Force?"

"I don't know yet. Maybe once we get off Taris we can seek counsel. Right now we need to focus on getting out of here."

Jarek had finished washing his robes, and came out of the bathroom. He went over to the table in the corner of the room and opened up the medpac. He took out the syringe and injected himself with the kolto inside of it. Kolto was a healing substance, used by both Republic and Sith soldiers in this war. There was a certain planet it was found on, though Jarek didn't know which one it was. "Mmm," he said as his wound was instantly healed.

"We're going to Canderous to give him the codes," he said flatly. "Who's coming?" Alora stood up immediately, and a moment later, Carth stood as well. "Fine, then. Let's go."

Bastila had to stay behind as usual, as not to attract any more attention from the Sith. Carth, Alora, and Jarek headed for the cantina.

They left the apartment without another word, and when they reached the Upper City streets, Alora ran ahead and approached the cantina entrance.

"I'm sorry," Carth said. "I fought in the Mandalorian Wars, and I saw my own friends dying right and left. It hurts me now to see anyone else I have seen, even just once, die. And with…nevermind."

"What?"

"It's nothing."

"No, really. I want to know more about you, Carth. If we're going to do this together, we have to be able to get along."

"It's just…I don't talk about it very much, okay?"

"You must have told someone at least once, right?"

"Well, yeah. Alora knows. But, still…."

"Carth, you can tell me."

"All right." He heaved a deep sigh. "My mentor. Saul Karath. He taught me everything I know now. He was the best one we had fighting in the war--apart from Revan. He's half the reason we even won. After the war, he approached me and started talking to me about how the Republic was on the losing side of this war, and asked me if I really wanted to be on the losing side. I didn't think for one second that he could be trying to recruit me into the Sith. I thought so highly of him, I guess...I guess that admiration sort of blinded me from...the truth. Saul...he--" But they had reached the cantina entrance by now, and Carth didn't seem to want to talk about it in front of the Sith guard standing there.

"Later," Jarek said to him, which Carth greatly appreciated, judging from the expression on his face.

They met Canderous again in the cantina, who was sipping some Tarisian Ale.

"Ooh," he said when he saw them. "Strong stuff. Did you get them?" Alora handed Canderous the launch codes. "Good. You did it."

"Now, you do your part," Carth said.

"Don't worry, I will. I'll talk to Davik and get you that job."

"You sure he'll just…accept me?" Alora asked.

"With a recommendation from me, sure. When he goes to do a background check on you, we can get to work."

"Okay. When do we go?"

"Now," Canderous replied.

As always, please R&R, because I'm always looking for improvements for my writing. Hopefully I'll be updating soon, but don't think of that as a promise!


	4. Malak’s Attack

Well, here it is, after all this time. My only excuse is that the batteries for the mouse went dead and we couldn't find any for days! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Well, obviously, I don't own Star Wars or KotOR. You know who it belongs to. But I created the new characters!

_Chapter Three: Malak's Attack _

Canderous took the three of them to an airspeeder at the landing pads, and flew them to Davik's estate, not far from the cantina. They landed in the employees' hangar, and found Davik in the throne room, accompanied by a short man who clutched dual blasters in each hand.

"Nice to see you again, Canderous, as always. Who's your friend?"

"Of course. She's the rider who--"

"--won the great swoop race in the Lower City, of course. Now I recognize you. If you don't mind me asking, Canderous, why have you brought her here?"

"I've seen what she can do, Davik--winning the swoop race, killing Brejik--"

"Something we've all wanted for a long time."

"Well, I asked, and she said she would be very interested in working for you."

"I'm so pleased to finally meet you, Davik," Alora said politely. Davik shook her hand.

"So, you want to work for me, eh?" He chuckled. "I suppose I could use more help, though the Vulkars won't be giving us as much trouble from now on. You sure about this?"

"Very sure."

"Hmm. All right, then. I'll go run a background search on you right now, how's that? If everything goes right, I'll see what I can do for you."

"Fair enough," Alora said.

"Canderous, since you're already here, would you mind giving our friend a tour of the place?" Canderous nodded. "I need to run."

"Goodbye, Davik." Davik and his "bodyguard" left the room.

"Nevermind the tour," Canderous said once Davik was out of earshot. "I know where the _Ebon Hawk _is parked. Let's go."

Jarek didn't want to trust Canderous. Not a Mandalorian. But, he thought to himself, he had to. If not for Canderous, they wouldn't even be in Davik's estate. Jarek would just have to wait and see how it played out.

"Who was that man with Davik?" she asked as they followed him down the corridor.

"Calo Nord," Canderous replied. "He's a big-time bounty hunter. He's only stuck working for Davik because of the quarantine, too."

Canderous led them to a room in the northeast corner of the corridor where several Twi'leks stood chatting. There were beds in the back, shallow bathing pools near the front, and a footlocker on the other end.

"Greetings, master," a female slave said. "Would you like a massage?"

"Well," Carth said, chuckling. "I sure could use one."

"Not now, Carth," Jarek said firmly. "We have other things on our mind."

"All right, lighten up." Jarek turned to face the slave again, and heard Carth mutter, "Jedi."

"We're not interested in that right now. We need information."

"Information? But I am merely a slave! I'm not even allowed outside of this room. What could I possibly know that you don't?"

"Maybe more than you know. Have you heard lately?"

"Oh," she said, pondering. "Well, there has been a rumor floating around that Davik's pilot was caught stealing spice from the kitchens. Normally he would have been able to get away with that kind of thing, I think, but since the Sith quarantined the planet, Davik has become more tense than ever. They say he was put in the torture chambers."

"Where might those be?" Jarek asked.

"I think in the north end of this area. Just go back through the throne room to get there."

"Thank you," he said, and they left, Jarek in the lead. Following the slave's instructions, they went back through the throne room, and proceeded to the north end of the estate. Jarek would have navigated using the signs hanging from the ceiling, but he couldn't read them--they were written in a foreign language.

He went through a door to his left, but quickly found that this wasn't the torture chamber. A Tarisian noble dressed in fine, silk robes was standing inside, obviously startled by their appearance.

"What are you doing here?" he said. "I gave Davik specific orders not to disturb me!"

"Oh, I'm sorry," Jarek said. "I was just checking to see if you needed...."

"A drink!" Alora said quickly.

"Oh. Well, I don't need anything, thank you. That is kind of Davik to send someone to ask, though. Here, take this tip for thinking of me." The noble pulled out a 5-credit chit and handed it to Jarek, and faked a smile. "Goodbye." And he shut the door.

"Some reward, eh?" Alora said.

Carth chuckled slightly, and they continued down the corridor until they reached the last door. With their weapons drawn, they opened it. The three torture droids hovering in the air turned when the door opened, their eyes glowing a menacing red.

They were ready--Canderous fired away at one droid with his enormous repeating blaster, Carth and Alora took the second, and Jarek threw himself at the third. A coupl of swings and the droid exploded, sending sparks flying through the air. Canderous was handling the other droid just fine, but Carth and Alora seemed to be having some trouble. The droid burned Carth on his arm quite severely, sending him to the ground. Jarek used the Force and stunned the droid, temporarily disabling it.

"Alora!" he called. She took a swing at the torture droid, which was just enough to destroy it. By now, Canderous had finished off the last droid. Alora crouched beside

Carth, and pulled up his sleeve. He was burned from his elbow to his shoulder. Alora took a medpac from her belt and tended to his wound. Meanwhile, Jarek noticed a man in red clothes twitching madly in a cell. He hurried to the console and deactivated the electrical field around the cell.

"T-thank you," he said weakly. "I don't think I would have been able to stand it much longer."

"So, any kind of reward for saving you?" said Canderous impatiently.

"I don't have any credits--Davik took them when I was punished--but I have information. Information that could be worth a fortune!" he added hastily, seeing the look on Canderous' face. "I, er, _used _to be the pilot of the _Ebon Hawk. _I know the codes to disable the security system in the hangar around it! With those codes alone, you can steal the _Ebon Hawk _and do whatever you want with it_._ Sell it to the highest bidder, or--or ransom it back to Davik, anything you want! Whatever you do, you'll make thousands!"

"Thank you," Mara said. "That's exactly what we need. Now, hurry, before someone sees you!"

"Thanks again," the pilot said as he hurried off down the corridor.

"Okay," Canderous said. "We got what we came for. We should get going."

Eliminating any opposition they encountered on the way, Carth, Canderous, Alora, and Jarek went to the west wing of Davik's estate and entered the codes the pilot gave them to disable the security system at a console just outside the hangar.

"Wait," Jarek said. "Something's wrong." He could sense great danger approaching, but couldn't tell what it was exactly. Just then, a rumbling sound was heard and the ground shook, nearly sending Jarek to the ground.

"What is that?" Alora said as the building shook again.

"I don't know, but there's no time to figure it out now. We need to get to the ship!"

The moment they ran through the door to the hangar, they saw two figures approaching from the opposite end--Davik Kang and Calo Nord.

"It's the Sith!" Davik said to Calo. "They're bombing the whole planet! I knew they'd turn on us some day! If I ever--" But Davik stopped when he saw Canderous and the others. "So, it looks like we have another traitor on our hands," he said.

"I knew it!" Calo said. "You should have never trusted a Mandalorian! He thinks he's meant for bigger things than you!"

"Let's show him how Davik Kang treats a traitor," Davik said.

"Move out of the way, Davik, and we won't--"

"No," Davik interrupted. "You can't just steal my ship and leave me here to die while the Sith bomb the planet into dust! I won't let you! You'll have to kill me before you take my baby!"

"So it shall be," Canderous said bitterly. Jarek and Alora charged forward with their melee weapons, while Carth and Canderous stayed behind and fired with their blasters.

Davik and Calo remained in the same position, blasting away with their pistols. Jarek used his lightsaber to deflect the blaster bolts and dodged the ones that made it past. When Jarek got close enough, Davik dropped his guns and pulled out a long Echani vibroblade. Alora, however, had chosen to attack Calo, who stayed firing with his blasters, keeping her a good distance away from him.

After several moments of combat, Jarek realized he could not beat Davik. He was obviously well-trained. Additionally, he had a shield activated, which Jarek's lightsaber could not cut through that easily. He pushed Davik away with the Force, and jumped toward Calo instead. Calo obviously didn't have a vibroblade on him, as he kept backing away from them. A blaster bolt zoomed past and hit Calo in the arm. Jarek could smell the burnt flesh instantly. Alora and Jarek ceased fighting. Calo backed away even further, and pulled out a gray grenade from his coat.

"You may have defeated me, but I won't go alone. This Thermal Detonator will kill us all."

"Calo, don't!" Davik cried as he stood up.

"Shut up, old man. I don't work for you anymore. Now I'm ending this. Nobody's--" But a sudden explosion interrupted Calo and sent pipes from the ceiling crashing down, landing on top of Calo, and crushing Davik's leg.

"ARGH!" he cried in pain, but couldn't free himself. Jarek and the others turned and headed for the _Ebon Hawk. _"No! You can't take my baby and leave me here to die! You can't!"

"Watch me," Canderous said. He sealed the loading ramp for the ship, taking one last glance of Davik's horrified face. He joined the others at the cockpit. Carth was sitting in the pilot's seat, starting up the _Ebon Hawk._ Canderous sat down in the co-pilot's seat, and entered a bunch of numbers Jarek guessed were the launch codes.

"We're going back to the apartment to pick up a few friends first, if you don't mind, Canderous," Carth said, and they took off.

As they were flying, Jarek looked out the window. Buildings were burning left and right, some of them completely destroyed, and the citizens on the street were running around in fear, even the Sith soldiers. He could only hope their apartment building was still intact.

"Malak," Jarek said quietly.

"What?"

"Malak. Darth Malak. He did this. He ordered the strike."

Darth Malak was Revan's apprentice at one time. Revan and Malak were both originally Jedi. They were ambitious to learn the ways of the Jedi. Revan was the reason the Republic even won the Mandalorian Wars. If not for Revan's tactics and strategies, the Mandalorians would have won. But after the Mandalorian Wars, Revan and Malak took a Republic fleet with them out into uncharted space.

Nobody could make radio contact with them and they were never seen for weeks. Everyone assumed them to be dead. But eventually they did come back, but they were not the Revan and Malak they were before. They had become Sith, and they had returned with a seemingly infinite army. To this day, nobody knows how or where they got this fleet, but all they know is that there's no visible means of stopping them at this point.

Malak became proud. He began thinking he was superior to his master. So when a small squad of Jedi boarded Revan's flagship to capture him, Malak fired upon his own master, nearly killing him.

Bastila, who was part of the squad sent to capture Revan, thought him dead at first.

But Revan was not dead.

Bastila, the T3-M4 droid, and the others boarded the ship, blasters held tightly in their hands (those who had hands, anyway).

When they took off again, Jarek looked into the sky. It looked as if it was raining, but the rain was red. Blaster bolts were pouring out of the sky, so many that they blocked out of view whatever it was that was firing them. It would have been beautiful, had it not been so dangerous.

Everywhere, the Upper City streets were crumbling beneath the feet of the citizens and falling to the lower levels. Jarek could hear faint screams in his mind. He could almost feel the panic the people of Taris were feeling.

Jarek could hear explosions and the heavy blaster fire raining down on the streets of the city. The view of Taris looked completely different than it did when Jarek first saw it.

Before, it was clean and sparkling, the sunlight glinting merrily off the building windows. The Tarisians and off-worlders were going about their daily business, some smiling, others staying away from the Sith patrols.

Now, everything was in ruin. Large chunks of buildings were gone, if there was any building left to begin with. People on the streets tried to find somewhere safe to hide, though there was nothing. The streets themselves crumbled down to the Lower City, taking dozens of people down with them each time. Nobody seemed to fear the Sith walking the streets now--everyone was in it together at the moment.

Then, they were off. They flew away from the destroyed city and into space.

An enormous starship hovered above the planet, firing away at the surface. Jarek would have thought there were more ships, considering the amount of blaster fire there was.

"No," Carth whispered. "No, it can't be."

"What?" Jarek asked.

"That ship! I know that ship. It's...."

"Nevermind that, just go!" Carth punched in the coordinates, and they flew off into hyperspace.

"What ship was that?" Alora asked as they were flying.

"The _Leviathan. _I'm sure of it." Jarek could feel the anger in Carth as he said this, he could hear it in his voice. Jarek had never heard of it, but knew that was the ship Darth Malak was on at that moment.

"What's so special about that ship?"

Carth sighed, but didn't say anything. Jarek knew he was trying to find words to say.

"Saul Karath's flagship," he muttered.

"Saul Karath?" Alora said. "I know that name."

Carth turned and looked at her, his eyes considerably wider. "Oh? Congratulations, then."

Alora blinked. "What?"

"Don't act like you didn't hear me."

"Is something wrong?"

"No. Just go about your own business and stay out of mine."

"Er--I think I'm going to go check out the ship a little," said the young, blue Twi'lek Jarek saw in the apartment. The enormous Wookiee followed her.

Before anything else happened, the ship rocked.

"What was that?" Alora said, trying to find something to hold on to.

"A Sith squadron just came out of nowhere! They've intercepted us. We've dropped out of hyperspace."

"Quickly!" Bastila said. "To the turrets. You need to hold them off so we can get back into hyperspace!"

Alora turned and ran down the corridor out of sight.

Jarek looked out of the window again and saw a Sith fighter zoom past. Light blaster fire was heard and the ship rocked again.

"What can I do?" Jarek said to Carth.

"Try getting into one of those side turrets."

"How do I get there?"

"I don't know!" the pilot said, panicked. Jarek turned and ran to the crew quarters on the starboard section of the _Ebon Hawk._ Where Jarek expected a passage to the side turret to be, there were four beds. He ran to the one at the north end and examined the console at its foot. There were too many buttons--he didn't know what to push.

There was one button, however that caught his eye. It was a much larger, green button with an arrow pointing left, toward the outside of the ship. When he pressed it, the bed he was on instantly began to descend into the floor. As it was going down, a passage was revealed on the other side of the bed. When it stopped, Jarek looked up. He had to be about six feet under the ground. He got off the bed and ran down the passage. As he had expected, the turret was at the end. Jarek sat down and fired at the first Sith fighter that zoomed past. He missed.

"Come on, focus," he muttered to himself. "You can do this." He had to wait for the perfect moment. He heard distant explosions from fighters Alora had obviously been destroying, but there were too many for her to take on her own. Just then, a fighter flew into view, flying right towards Jarek. "Here we go," he said. Next moment there was a storm of red and green blaster bolts heading at opposite directions. He kept the target in his sights, not releasing any pressure from the trigger. He wouldn't let them get away.

The fighter was closing in fast, but Jarek didn't stop. It was clear to Jarek this ship was going to crash right into the turret, killing him as well. But for some reason, he was glued to that seat. At the last moment, he landed a hit on the vessel's wing, sending it spiraling right past him out of control. A faint explosion behind him and the ship exploded into dust. It was only after that Jarek realized he had been yelling the whole time. Unfortunately, he still wasn't done. There were more fighters still. With help from Alora, Jarek took down all of the remaining fighters.

"Good job," came Carth's voice over the intercom. "That's all of them." Jarek stood up and ran back down the passage and back up to the cockpit. Alora was already there.

"Good shooting," she said.

"Me? You destroyed most of 'em. I just cleaned up the leftovers." Alora smiled.

"We'll have a toast later," Carth said impatiently, punching in the hyperspace coordinates. Then, they were off again.

As they were flying, most of the crew went to explore the ship, but Alora and Jarek sat down at a table, exchanging stories of what happened since the _Endar Spire_.

Alora told Jarek about how she witnessed a dark Jedi kill a man who guided her through half of the ship, how she escaped in the last pod with Carth, seconds before it was destroyed, and everything that happened on Taris--how she became dueling champion, how she gave the rakghoul serum to Zelka Forn, a doctor in the Upper City, how she delivered the Outcasts in the Undercity to the fabled Promised Land, and how she met up with Mission Vao, the blue Twi'lek and saved Zaalbar, her Wookiee friend, who then swore a life-debt to her.

A while later, Carth put the ship on autopilot and the crew gathered in the kitchen to discuss their destination.

"We're headed for Dantooine," Bastila said. "There's a Jedi Enclave there where we can seek counsel--something we all could use after what we just witnessed."

"Tell me about it," Carth said gravely. "Mission's in the back of the ship. She locked the doors and won't come out."

"Why?" Jarek asked curiously.

"Mission grew up on Taris," Alora explained. "She told me how she left her parents, how she met Zaalbar, how they've been best friends ever since her brother left her alone on Taris...."

"Her brother did what?"

"She doesn't like to talk about it, but I've managed to get her to tell me a bit. She says he went off with his girlfriend, Lena, and they went somewhere looking to make money. She said her brother told her he would come back for her and take her somewhere special once he made enough money. She hasn't seen him since."

"But why are we stopping?" Carth said. "Malak will find us there and raze the planet just like he did Taris. You saw what he did--there couldn't have been a building over two stories that are still intact!"

"Even Darth Malak would think twice before attacking Dantooine. Some of the most powerful Jedi Masters reside there in the Jedi training academy."

"I hope you're right," Carth said.

"She is, Carth," said Jarek, turning to face him. "Malak may look it, but he's not stupid enough to attack Dantooine without a second thought."

"Well, I should certainly hope so. Because we're here."


	5. Old Ruins

Disclaimer: No disclaimer today, boys and girls. It's kind of pointless, now that I think about it. Everyone knows I'm not George Lucas or an employee of BioWare. Just a simple 13-year-old kid who likes them both. So let's get on with it....

OLD RUINS

After they had landed, Bastila went up to the cockpit to speak with Carth. Jarek followed.

"The Jedi Council has requested an audience with us," she said. "It would be wise if you stayed behind, Carth."

"Why is Alora coming with you? What does she have to do with it?"

"I cannot tell you, Carth. All I can say is that this is a very serious matter and the Council wishes to speak with us."

"Good," said Jarek. "I think it's about time we speak with them."

"Indeed. Let's go, then." The Jedi took Alora out of the _Ebon Hawk,_ through the yard, and into the enclave, where they met the four council members deep inside the training facility.

"Greetings," said a Twi'lek in blue robes. "I am Master Zhar. Here with me today are Master Vrook, Master Vandar, and, of course, the chronicler of our academy, Master Dorak." Vrook was an elderly man in red robes and a balding head. Jarek remembered him very well from his own Jedi training - though when he had done it, he was very young, and Vrook had much more hair. Vandar, on the other hand, was very short and had pointy ears. He had always been Jarek's favorite teacher before, as he was closest to Jarek's own size when he first trained.

Dorak was a tall man with dark skin and no more hair than Vrook had. He wore brown Jedi Master robes and was no doubt the friendliest of the four.

Alora greeted them all.

"Bastila has told us about what happened on Taris and how you rescued her --" Jarek could hear Bastila sigh audibly "-- from the swoop gangs. That was a very brave thing to do."

"Oh, er, thank you. Why exactly have you brought me here, Bastila?"

"We have been discussing your rather special case," Zhar continued, rather rudely in Alora's opinion. "Bastila thinks you are very strong in the Force, and now that you're here, I can feel it as well. We've been discussing the possibility of Jedi training for you."

"Jedi training?" Alora repeated tentatively.

"Maybe that is not wise," said Master Vrook. "Perhaps what happened on Taris was just simple luck."

"We both know there is no luck," said Vandar, "there is only the Force."

"Perhaps," said Vrook stubbornly. He was still the same old Master Vrook Jarek knew.

"We have discussed this matter into great detail," said Zhar, "and we have come to a decision. We think it would be best if you become a Jedi. That is, if you want to?"

"I ... I would love to learn the teachings of the Jedi, Master Zhar," said Alora, still somewhat hesitant, but excited nonetheless.

"Good. Now, if you'll please excuse us, we need to discuss a very serious matter that has stumbled upon us."

"Master Zhar, if we may have a quick word with you?" said Jarek.

"Of course."

"Could you excuse us, Alora?" he asked her.

"Sure," she said, and walked back out of the room. Once she was out of earshot, Jarek sat down and cleared his throat.

"Master Vandar, may I ask why you are doing this?"

"We have decided it would be best for Alora to learn the ways of the Jedi ... again," said Master Vandar.

"But, Master, surely you know the dangers in this? The same thing could happen as last time. Maybe even worse --"

"Silence, Padawan Jarek," said Vrook firmly. Jarek obeyed.

"Master," said Bastila, taking Jarek's place in the conversation. "Do you truly believe this is wise?"

"When you told us you would be coming, we discussed -- into great detail, I might add -- the seriousness of this issue. We need to find whatever it was Malak found after the war ended. I fear whatever it might be will cause great problems for everyone in the Order."

"What about the people in the Republic?" Jarek piped up.

"Yes, the Republic as well. Any enemies of the Sith."

"Master, is there no other way?" said Bastila.

"I'm afraid there is not."

"But, Master --"

"You two will return to the _Ebon Hawk _with your teammates while we deliberate," said Master Vandar resolutely.

Bastila bowed. "As you wish, Master." Jarek followed Bastila out of the enclave and back inside the _Ebon Hawk._

Inside Alora was sitting at a table in the kitchen sipping something out of a mug, Mission was still locked up in the crew quarters, Canderous found a swoop bike and was tweaking it, and Carth stood nearby, leaning against a wall with his arms folded.

"A Jedi?" he said in disbelief. "Alora's going to be a Jedi? What's next? Zaalbar and Mission get married?"

Jarek laughed, but Bastila didn't seem to have a sense of humor. She left to the cockpit. "They say it'll be best for her," said Jarek. "They're 'deliberating' at the moment, whatever that means."

"You should not be telling Carth these things," Bastila said. "They do not concern him." Carth rolled his eyes silently and turned back to Jarek.

"She's right, you know. You don't act much like a Jedi. Or, at least, the kind of Jedi I've seen."

"I'm not like that. They're a bit more ... uptight than I am." Carth laughed quietly as Jarek looked in the direction of the cockpit.

"What's that you're drinking?" said Jarek to Alora, though not trying to change the subject.

"Oh. It's ... Tarisian ale," she replied, her smile fading. "Davik kept a huge supply of it. You want some?"

"Sure."

"In the kitchen." Jarek did not go to the kitchen to get the drink. Instead, he extended his arm and closed his eyes, and a goblet full of bubbling blue liquid soared through the air and into his hand. He took a sip.

"Whoa," he said, blinking. "That's some strong ale." He examined the drink inside the goblet. "It'll be dangerous to drink anything more than a cup." His eyes moved to Carth, who was staring out of the window, frowning. "You know, you never finished telling me about Saul." At these words, Alora hastily packed up her mug and headed out of sight.

"Oh. I really don't think I should -"

"Well, I do. I don't know anything about you, Carth. I'm accustomed to having a good relationship with my crew on previous journeys."

"Yeah, well, this isn't your crew," Carth muttered bitterly. Jarek frowned.

"I don't know anything about you. And I don't want it to stay that way any longer."

"I ... I ... I told you, I just don't talk about it very much."

"But you told Alora, right?"

"Yeah, but...."

"But it would be harder for you to say it again, right?" Jarek understood. Explaining his past to others was hard to relive. That didn't change the fact that he still wanted to know.

"Right," he sighed. "Why don't you just go ask Alora?"

"You're stalling." Carth didn't answer. "Why can't you just answer a few questions?"

"It's not that easy. I just ... it's not something I really want to talk about at the moment, okay? Later."

"Okay, then. I'll be holding you to your word."

"Fine, fine. Just not now." Jarek nodded and went to the swoop hangar to see the bike Davik left behind. When he came in, he found Canderous lying underneath the swoop bike wearing gloves.

Jarek cleared his throat to announce his presence. Canderous emerged from under the bike and sat up.

"So," he said. "See this little baby my dear old boss lent us?"

"Yeah. Nice, that one is."

"Mm-hm," said Canderous promptly. "I'm guessing it's already fit for racing. Davik kept her in good shape. What do you need?"

"Oh.... Nothing, really. Just taking a look around."

"This ship's pretty roomy, huh?"

"Yeah."

"I bet that ship Onasi mentioned has a lot of space too, eh?"

"The _Leviathan?_"

"That's the one. Wouldn't mind taking her for a cruise."

"Mm," said Jarek absent-mindedly. He returned to the cockpit and waited there until they were summoned back by the Council. When they returned, Zhar and the others were waiting in the same positions as before.

"We have decided," Zhar said to Alora, "that you will begin your training immediately. You understand, of course, that becoming a Jedi is not an everyday privilege. When you accept a position in the Jedi Order, you are indeed receiving a blessing. But we have enemies, and the Sith can use your desires and your own allies against you in attempts to get you to change sides. Do you understand?" Alora nodded. "Excellent. Now, if you'll follow me, we can begin."

Over the next few weeks, Zhar taught Alora in the ways of the Jedi and to hone her Force powers. During that time, Jarek remained a safe distance away so she wouldn't accidentally Force Push him into the wall again. He watched as she practiced swordfighting with Bastila, learned to levitate books and chairs across the room, and on the last day, Zhar approached her in the courtyard.

"I am extremely honored to announce that you have become a full member of the Jedi Order. You have done in weeks what most of my students cannot do in years. Congratulations." Zhar and Alora shook hands, and then reentered the enclave. Jarek stood waiting just outside the training room, listening to Zhar teaching Alora the Jedi Code. But his mind soon drifted to something else.

What they were doing was too risky. Sure, they needed her to find what Revan and Malak found after the Mandalorian Wars, but they didn't seem to have a plan for what would happen if she ever found out the truth. The Council knew her secret. They knew perfectly well that she could find out the very thing they tried so hard to keep under wraps. And they knew that if she did, there was no telling what would happen. The Jedi were the only ones there who knew about this. Not the crew of the _Ebon Hawk,_ the Sith, or even Alora herself. Telling anyone - especially her - would endanger the mission and most likely their lives. It was a secret they had all sworn to keep silent.

Before Jarek could dwell on that thought any longer, Alora emerged from the training room and spoke to Master Dorak. She would be choosing her Jedi class now, Jarek thought. He knew because this was what he had done years ago as well. Every Jedi went through this process. There were three different colors and paths that distinguished the different Jedi classes. The Jedi Guardian, a fighter skilled with his or her lightsaber and focusing mainly on combat, placed a blue crystal in their lightsaber. The Jedi Sentinel, a Jedi who relied mostly on their own skills and talents, but balanced between combat and Force powers as well, had a yellow crystal in their lightsaber hilt. The Jedi Consular, a Jedi seeking to bring balance to the universe, and focusing mainly on their Force powers to keep danger away, had a green crystal for their lightsaber.

Jarek was a Jedi Guardian. His lightsaber was his most used possession, and he only used the Force when he absolutely needed it. He never changed the color of his lightsaber, however, to let his enemies know that he was an elite fighter.

Bastila was a Jedi Sentinel. She, as most Sentinels did, balanced between her weapon and her powers, and used them both to her advantage. After the incident on Darth Revan's flagship, when his apprentice, Malak, betrayed him and tried to kill him, the Jedi gave Bastila a special reward for her services. She was awarded with a rare lightsaber that was only given to unique Jedi - a double-ended one. Jarek felt that this added to her already overlarge head, making her even more arrogant than she was before, which, was apparently possible by now.

Galnar, Jarek's friend for so many years, had been a Jedi Consular. He rarely used his lightsaber and mostly relied on his Force powers to keep him alive. Jarek was never as skilled as he had been with the Force, as Galnar could simply throw his hand in the air and knock back a dozen enemies near him. He could even send tree branches the size of those on Kashyyyk falling down and landing on the opposition. But now that he had passed away -- Jarek didn't want to think about it.

Alora passed by Jarek on her way back to Zhar. She held a yellow crystal up to him without stopping. He smiled.

Bastila and Vandar were having a hushed conversation over in the corner, their lips hardly moving. Jarek didn't need to hear them to know what they were talking about.

After nearly a half hour of waiting, Jarek went inside the training room to see what was taking so long. Alora was at a workbench near the door, and upon a closer inspection, he saw that she was constructing her lightsaber. She had already put the crystal inside and closed it up, and now she was making a few touch-ups. After she was done, she picked up her newly created lightsaber and drew it. The yellow blade glowed a noble gold and illuminated the dark corner by the workbench.

"Very good!" cried Zhar, beaming. "Well done. Not many of our students can construct a lightsaber on their first try."

"I sure didn't," said Jarek.

"Now, Alora, it is time for one last task before you can become a Padawan, the first rank for a member of the Jedi Order."

"What must I do, Master Zhar?" said Alora.

"As a Jedi, you will always feel the presence of the dark side, and it is your job to extinguish it.

"As you may know, kath hounds inhabit most of Dantooine. They have always been peaceful creatures; never harming humans. But the kath hounds have become more vicious as of late. We've received a number of reports of farmers being injured or killed by kath hounds, but do not know what is causing their recent ferociousness.

"This 'infection' has never spread past the hills surrounding this area, and we can feel a taint in the grove south of the enclave. We want you to investigate this disturbance and extinguish the taint in the grove once and for all. But you would do well to remember, no one is without hope of redemption." Alora nodded. "Now, Alora, Padawan Jarek and Padawan Bastila must remain here until you return successful. You may take your other companions, though it would be best if they stayed onboard the ship."

"I understand, Master Zhar."

"Good luck." Alora turned and left the enclave, but instead of going toward the exit, she marched off in the direction of the _Ebon Hawk_. Jarek soon followed, and when he began to trudge up the loading ramp, Alora, Carth, and Canderous emerged from inside.

Jarek wished them all good luck and said farewell before sitting down at a nearby bench and summoning another cup of ale. He didn't get the Tarisian kind, though -- that was too strong, even for him.

As he sat sipping from the goblet, he realized that Mission was still nowhere to be found. He decided he would go to see if she was feeling any better.

When he got to the door, he found it unsurprisingly locked.

"Go away," came a voice from inside.

"It's okay, I just want to talk. Can I come in?"

"All right," was the muffled reply. "Just be quick."

With a wave of his hand, Jarek unlocked the door and entered. Mission was sitting on one of the beds, a pillow on her lap where she had no doubt been crying, and her face stained with tears.

"What's wrong?" Jarek asked softly, as if he had never heard her story.

"Taris," she replied sadly. "Taris was my home. I grew up there."

"You did? You were born on Taris?"

"Well, no, but I came there when I was really young. I don't remember much of what happened, but all I know was that my brother brought me there when I was little."

"Really?" said Jarek, trying to sound thoroughly interested.

"Yeah. We smuggled ourselves into a cargo plane and arrived there. I lived for a few years with him. We didn't have any money, so he taught me how to pick locks and disable security systems to get into food storage crates and stuff. After a while he started gambling ... and drinking. And now he's gone, thanks to that ... that ... intergalactic space ... _skank!_"

"Who?"

"Lena was her name. She seduced my brother and he fell absolutely head-tails over heels about her. She only wanted him for what money he had, though, I just know it."

"Who was she?"

"Some dancer at the cantina. She took him away and I've never seen him since!" Mission began sobbing into her pillow again.

"Did she, now?" Jarek said, rubbing his chin.

"She made him tell me some poodoo story about how they were going off to make money, and they couldn't afford an extra ticket for me. He said he'd come back for me when they made enough money to take me along and that we'd be richer beyond our wildest dreams when they did. And I haven't seen him since." She buried her face into her pillow and cried yet again, but Jarek put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"How'd a kid like you grow up on your own on a planet like Taris?" Jarek said, smiling. These words had the exact opposite effect than he had intended. She did stop crying, but when she looked up at him, she looked angry.

"What?! I ain't no kid! I'm fourteen! I took care of myself! Nobody helped me or -- or anything!"

"What about the Wookiee?"

"Zaalbar?" said Mission, suddenly distracted (Jarek sighed mentally). "I met Big Z a few years after that. He's my family now. I don't remember my parents, see? I was too young. I don't even know if they're alive anymore."

"So, then Zaalbar looked after you?" Jarek regretted saying this the moment it was out. He didn't mean any offense, but Mission seemed to think so.

"I managed it on my own for four years without anybody else helping me! In fact, I look out for Zaalbar more than he looks out for me! I can --"

"Okay, Mission, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it that way."

"Oh. Well, Big Z and me have been best friends ever since we met, you know?"

"How _did _you meet?" he asked curiously.

"I was down in the Lower City once and got some trouble from the Vulkars. They were threatenin' me, but I was tough. I didn't run away. Big Z was in the area and didn't seem to like them picking on a kid, and he came over, roaring like an overgrown rakghoul! He picked up one of the Vulkars by the throat and held him in the air."

"Did he kill him?"

"What? No! He may not look it, but Zaalbar's a real softie inside. The Vulkar he was holding passed out, either from fear or Big Z's breath." Jarek saw Mission smile for the first time since he'd met her. "I always tell him to brush those choppers of his, but does he listen?"

"What about the other Vulkars?"

"The other two screamed like skinned rontos! They ran off and out of sight. And we've been best friends ever since."

"So, how did Zaalbar end up on Taris? From what I understand, aliens aren't very welcome on that planet." Jarek would have added, "Or weren't," but he told himself that reminding Mission that Taris was gone wouldn't be the best idea.

"He was fleeing some kind of trouble back on Kashyyyk. He doesn't like to talk about it very much, you know?"

Jarek stood up and stretched his arms. "You want to go see him? He's been looking paranoid out there. He's been sitting in the same spot the whole time since you came in here." Mission laughed and stood up.

"Why not?" she said. "I guess I haven't checked this place out yet."

Jarek let Mission off alone and sat down just moments before Alora came back. The moment she did, though, she headed toward the enclave. Carth and Canderous, knowing not to get involved with Jedi business, boarded the _Ebon Hawk. _Jarek marched down the loading ramp and followed her.

When they reached the enclave, Bastila was waiting with arms behind her back and took Alora to the training room where Master Zhar congratulated her.

"You have done it," he said. "I can feel the taint gone, and that someone who had once fallen has now returned to the light."

"Yes, Master Zhar. Juhani was causing the kath hounds to attack. I convinced her to rethink her ways and she returned here."

"Yes, we were just recently discussing her case. Congratulations, apprentice. Or should I say congratulations, _Padawan_?You are now a full member of the Jedi Order."

Jarek and Bastila both applauded her for a job well done.

"Now, normally, we'd give you a sort of 'graduation ceremony,' but the Council needs to discuss a rather serious matter."

Jarek and Bastila opened their mouths to talk, but Zhar hushed them. "I'm sorry, but this is a matter that does not concern you." Zhar walked away to the other Council members and the three Padawans returned to the _Ebon Hawk _to rest.

"Ooh, I hope this bed is comfier than the last one," said Jarek, remembering the cot in the Vulkars' base on Taris. Alora and Bastila took a place in two of the north beds and Jarek slipped into his own bunk before drifting off to sleep.

Jarek awoke to find Bastila gone. She was not in the crew quarters, but Jarek sensed she was somewhere besides the _Hawk. _Alora was still sleeping, though. But as he inched closer he saw that she was tossing and turning in her sleep, rolling around and nearly falling off the bed. Jarek was about to do something about it when her eyes opened. She looked at Jarek as if he were a deranged Wookiee.

"What?" he said. Alora remained silent, however, then sat up. She rubbed her head and blinked a few times before speaking.

"I had a dream. Of Malak and Revan. They were looking for _something _... but they found it. They said something about not being able to go back once they passed through the door...."

"Was that another vision, do you think?"

"Probably," she said.

"You should go see the Council about that."

"Yeah, I think I will, but first...." Alora stood up and grabbed a cup of Tarisian ale. One sip from the mug and she put it back. "That'll about do it. What are we waiting for?" She and Jarek walked alongside each other and disembarked from the ship, where Carth stopped them at the bottom of the loading ramp.

"What's going on this morning?" he said. "First Bastila wakes up, looking at me like she'd just seen a ghost, and now you -"

"I did," said Alora. "I saw Revan in my ... in my dream."

"Did you, now?" Carth ran a hand through his greasy hair. "Well, you better get right to the Council for that. They want to see you anyway."

Alora and Jarek took off again, leaving Carth behind.

When they arrived, the Jedi, as usual, were standing in the same spot in the same order, left to right.

"Don't they ever move or sit down?" Jarek whispered, and Alora stifled a laugh.

"Greetings, Padawan," said Vandar. "Bastila has told us of a most ... unusual development."

"She claims you and she have shared a vision of Revan and Malak searching some ruins," said Vrook.

"Yes, but -- how would she know we shared it?"

Vrook acted like he never heard her speak, and continued. "We believe we know these ruins."

"I have searched our massive archives in an attempt to find out about these ruins," said Master Dorak, "and have found that they are right here, on Dantooine. We've known about these ruins for ages, but have not been able to enter them. The door, it seems, will only open for someone else."

"That's why we want you to go investigate. Maybe you can get into the ruins and find out what Revan and Malak were looking for. Can you do that, Padawan?"

"I can, Master Vandar."

"That's what we like to hear," said Vrook.

"There is one more thing we need to add," croaked Vandar. "We sent a Jedi Knight into the ruins to investigate earlier, but he has not returned. We fear something may have happened to him."

"I'll look for him, Master Vandar."

"I will be accompanying you on this mission, as will Padawan Jarek," said Bastila. Jarek opened his mouth to protest, but she shook her head at him. He sighed and the three of them left the enclave through the north exit. Jarek remembered this area very well, though last time there were hardly any people outside. Now there were dozens of them, non-Jedi mostly, though Jarek did see a few half-concealed lightsabers.

"Most of them are farmers," Bastila explained. "Many a farm has been taken over by the kath hounds or the Mandalorians --"

"Mandalorians?" Jarek repeated. "There are Mandalorians on Dantooine?"

"Yes. Most of the Mandalorians that are left ravage the smaller towns or areas, no longer whole planets. They're ruthless killing brutes, as they always have been. They killed an old man in the hills because he wouldn't pay them."

"She's right," said Alora. "Someone saw them slaughter his daughter right in front of him and he begged us to kill them."

"Good," said Jarek. "It'll be much easier for the citizens of Dantooine to know the Mandalorian and kath hound threats have both been neutralized." By now Jarek realized they had been walking the whole time and looked behind him. The enclave was already a good distance away.

In front of him, Jarek saw a pack of kath hounds resting in the grass. When they saw the Jedi, however, they did not attack.

Not long after, the trio arrived at the old ruins the Masters spoke of. Jarek vaguely remembered this ruins when he was a boy. They didn't open for him either.

Alora turned and gave him a nervous glance before approaching the door. She raised a trembling hand and touched the door. It rumbled a bit and slid open. Jarek knew why.

Past the entrance chamber they found a droid. It sprang to life the moment they came close and began to honk and grunt at them.

"What are you saying?" said Alora, trying to interpret what language the droid was talking in.

It spoke again, though this time it spoke in a different language completely. "Bastila," said Alora inquisitively, "do you know what this droid is saying?"

"I think ... I think it's trying to communicate with us in a variety of alien languages. Each time it spoke, it used a completely different dialect."

The droid piped up again, but this time used a language the Jedi understood -- the language of the Selkath, inhabitants of the water world, Manaan.

"Greetings, sentient," it hissed. "What do you require?"

"Who are you?" Alora asked the droid.

"I am the Overseer. The Builders programmed me here, and here I remain should a Builder ever come seeking knowledge about the Star Forge."

"The Builders? Who are they?"

"Information corrupted," said the droid. The Jedi sighed.

"How long have you been here?" asked Jarek, arms folded.

"My chronological circuits have recorded ten full revolutions of time."

"That can't be right," Bastila objected. "Ten full revolutions would take more than twenty thousand years. If that's true, this droid is five thousand years older than the Republic itself!"

Alora opened her mouth to speak, but was distracted by a body in the corner. An old man in blue robes lie face-down in the dirt. She went over to him and checked his pulse, but it was no use.

"Did you kill that Jedi over there?" Bastila asked the droid.

"Negative. I am not programmed for combat. The sentient was weak and proven unworthy to cross into the chamber beyond."

Jarek looked up and saw a blue force field flash across the door behind the droid.

"How can we get back there?" Alora inquired.

"You must prove yourselves worthy. Past the doors on the sides, there are challenges you must face. A trial. If you can overcome those challenges, you may pass into the chamber beyond."

"What about the Star Forge you mentioned earlier? What is it?"

"The Star Forge is the glory of the Builders, the apex of their infinite empire. It is a machine of invincible might, a tool of unstoppable conquest."

"But what does it _do?_"

"The ..." The droid struggled. "The Star Forge is the glory of the Builders, the apex of their infinite empire. It is a machine of --" Alora hushed the droid before it could finish.

"This droid is not programmed with the information we seek," said Bastila. "Maybe whatever's beyond this door is."

"Well, we have to prove ourselves worthy, right?" asked Alora.

"The droid did say that," Jarek replied. He grabbed his lightsaber from his belt and drew it, leading Alora and Bastila through the door to their right.

An eight-legged assault droid stood waiting inside. The moment they entered, it spun around and a red shield activated. The droid instantly fired upon the trio and Bastila and Alora both dove out of the way. Jarek did a backflip, pushed off from the wall above the door, and cut into the droid's shield, leaving it open for attack. Alora and Bastila were on top of it - they both ran at the droid, their lightsabers deflecting blaster bolts the whole way, and struck at the same time. The droid showed no signs of damage.

Alora took a vibroblade and speared the droid. Though not completely injured, the machine was clearly damaged, and it smacked Alora across the face with its blaster. She flew through the air and hit the stone floor unconscious.

Bastila, taking advantage of the droid's distraction, whirled her lightsaber around and cut off one of the droid's many legs. It was still running.

Jarek charged from behind, getting in a few good hits, and Bastila stood from a distance using the Force repeatedly, stunning the droid and rendering it temporarily disabled so Jarek could attack.

It took almost a dozen swipes before Jarek delivered the fatal blow that destroyed the machine. After they were sure it was completely ruined, they rushed over to Alora to try and wake her.

"She'll be fine," said Bastila. "That droid did hit her pretty hard, though." After a dozen attempts, Alora came around and sat up, gasping for breath. "It's okay. The droid is gone." Alora tried to stand, though she was still a bit weak from the attack, and grasped Jarek's shoulder for support.

They walked her over to a terminal at the very end of the room.

"This is some kind of ancient language," she said, trying to read the writing. "I can't figure it out." Neither Jarek nor Bastila could decipher the symbols on the screen either.

"What about that?" said Jarek, pointing to a slot in the terminal. Alora seemed to read his mind. She took out her datapad and inserted it into the slot. At once, the terminal flickered to life, and images of peculiar-looking aliens appeared on the screen.

"Who are they?" said Bastila, but Jarek simply shrugged. Without warning, the terminal suddenly shut down, all the words that had appeared gone.

"Hey!" yelled Alora. She tried to pull her datapad out, but it wouldn't budge. "What? Come on! Let it out!" The terminal beeped to life again, and more of the strange aliens appeared on the screen. Mere seconds after that, they disappeared and writing appeared on the screen.

"Identify the three primary death-giving seed world types," Alora read aloud.

The words were hardly out of her mouth when the door opened and another eight-legged assault droid strode into the room, its legs clicking threateningly.

"We'll hold it off!" Jarek yelled. "Just disable it!"

Alora read the options aloud. "Oceanic, Grassland, Desert, Volcanic, Arboreal, and Barren."

"That's easy!" shouted Jarek, blocking blaster fire as he spoke.

Alora entered the answers: "Desert, Volcanic, and Barren." The words on the terminal were erased.

"Selections correct -- breaking death seal," she muttered to herself. The console shut down once more, spitting out her datapad and destroying the droid.

"Thanks," gasped Jarek. "Don't think I could have handled a second one of those things."

With Alora strong enough to walk on her own, the Jedi marched out of the chamber and were halted by the Overseer droid once again. "You have proven yourselves worthy," it said. "You may pass through the door." The minute the droid said this, the shield around the door behind it vanished. Alora cautiously approached and opened it, and they stepped inside.

In the room they discovered a large structure positioned in the very center. When they neared it, the device opened and a star chart materialized before their eyes. Bastila and Alora were eyeing it suspiciously, as if a kinrath queen might jump out of it at any moment.

"I don't understand," whispered Alora. "It this ... is this the Star Forge?"

"No," said Jarek. "This is some sort of map. It's incomplete, though. Revan and Malak must have used this to _find _the Star Forge, whatever it is."

"Look at this," said Bastila. "There are four planets highlighted here. This one must be Tatooine ... yes. And here's Manaan ... and Kashyyyk. And if that's Kashyyyk, then this must be ... Korriban."

"Revan and Malak visited Korriban at least once," said Jarek, "we know that. But what does this mean?"

"Maybe those planets have more clues to the location and purpose of the Star Forge," said Bastila.

"You're right," said Alora. "This map is incomplete. Maybe if we visit those planets we'll find out more."

"Now that we've got what we came for, we should leave. We need to tell the Council of what we have found." The trio left the chamber and headed back toward the entrance, but Alora paused at the fallen Jedi Knight.

She bent down and found a muddy pink lightsaber crystal inside his robes.

"That's no ordinary crystal," said Bastila, intrigued. "That's an upgrade. It gives lightsabers special properties."

"We could use that," said Jarek. "Come on, we need to tell the Council about that map."

Alora stuffed the crystal in her backpack and they left.

Sorry it took so long, we were trying to find a place to live. Unfortunately, there was no place so we moved into my grandparents' house. Not sure of their exact e-mail adress yet ... but, anyway, the next chapter will be up a lot sooner, promise. : )


	6. Training at the Sith Academy

So, well, yes, here it is, chapter five of the story you're reading.... Go ahead, read it! It's what it's here for!

TRAINING AT THE SITH ACADEMY

"What do you mean, Carth?" said Jarek after they had returned to the _Ebon Hawk_.

The Jedi Council had instructed them to find the Star Maps on the other four planets seen in the one they discovered in the ruins. The Jedi Alora saved from darkness, Juhani, had requested she come along with them on their journey.

"I mean, I want to know what's been going on in there between you three and the Jedi Council."

"If that information concerned you," said Bastila calmly, "you would have accompanied us inside."

"I just hate being left out of the loop like this."

"Left out of the loop?" said Jarek incredulously. "Carth, I'm not trying to keep you out of the loop. If I could, I would take you straight to the Council and have them tell it all to you, but I _can't_."

"Look --"

"Carth," said Jarek, "there are some things that don't concern you. I know you're not used to it, but...." Jarek looked around the room to make sure Alora was not present and lowered his voice to a whisper. "I'm afraid of what would happen if you found out."

Carth sighed.

"Alora took you with her to finish her third task. Doesn't that count for something?"

"Well...yes, but.... Okay, then tell me this: is there anything you _can _say that won't 'endanger our lives'?"

"The information the Council gave us would not endanger your life," said Bastila. "It would endanger the mission."

"Bastila, there is _one _thing we can tell him," Jarek recalled. "The Council did say there's...there's a bond between Bastila and Alora."

"You mean, like a friendship?" said Carth bemusedly.

"No, Carth, I mean a literal...er...bond." Carth folded his arms again.

"So...so you're saying they're _connected _in some way?" He gave a hoarse laugh. "I find that hard to believe."

"A Jedi would never lie, Carth," said Bastila, sounding mildly irritated.

"I'm not accusing you of lying, I just...."

"Don't trust easily," Jarek finished.

"Yeah."

"Why?"

"The reasons are my own, like I've told you before."

"Carth, don't you want this to work out? Don't you want to be friends? If we're going to face Malak together, I want to know you better."

Carth sighed. "Look, I'm just...I'm gonna go see if everything's all right up in the cockpit."

"You just did that five minutes ago!" cried Jarek.

"I just need to go up there."

"Fine. Bye. End of conversation."

"Good," Carth muttered, and he stalked away to the cockpit.

"He wasn't like that with me," said Alora, coming out from the corridor. "At least, not as much."

"I wonder why," muttered Jarek bitterly. Alora gave him a quizzical look. He didn't say anything.

"We need to stop focusing on this and start thinking about where we're going to go next," said Bastila. "There are four Star Maps on Kashyyyk, Manaan, Korriban, and Tatooine, and we need to figure out where we're going first."

"I like Manaan," said Alora. "It looks spectacular, from what I've heard."

"I'll stay away from Tatooine for as long as we can," said Jarek. "I'm in no mood to fry to death."

"Why not Korriban?" came an unfamiliar purr from the corridor.

A tall woman in Jedi robes entered. The little hair she had was made in a ponytail and she had stripes running down the back of her neck. Jarek didn't know who she was, but Alora did.

"Oh, hi, Juhani," she said. "Korriban, eh? What do you guys think?"

Jarek pondered for a moment, considering it, then said, "Why Korriban?"

"Revan and Malak would have most certainly gone to Korriban. We might be able to gather more clues there, making it easier to find the Star Maps on the other three planets."

The Cathar had a point, Jarek thought. He didn't mind going, but the planet was overrun with Sith and he didn't want to deal with them. Still, he did want to get Korriban out of the way. And from the look on Bastila's face, she didn't mind either.

"Okay, then," said Jarek. "Go tell our pilot."

Alora stood up and strolled to the cockpit to tell Carth they're next destination.

Jarek headed for the armory to store some weapons. As he was putting his father's vibroblade on the rack, he felt the ship rock and lift up from the ground. When he was done, he strode to the swoop hanger, where he found Canderous leaning against the bike.

Alora wanted to find a track to race on, but Jarek had tried to talk her out of it. She said that after racing for the first time on Taris, she was hungry for more. Jarek told her that she could get hurt, or worse. And without her, finding the Star Forge would be impossible.

Jarek muttered, "Hi," to Canderous and stepped over to the workbench. He got to work upgrading his lightsaber. The crystal they found on the body of the Jedi Knight in the ruins was known as a Bondar crystal, which would increase the physical damage his lightsaber inflicted by a small amount. Since Jarek was the only Guardian besides Juhani on the ship, everyone decided he should take it. He was fitting it in his lightsaber for the duration of their flight, and had finished just before they landed. He put the lightsaber on his belt and waved good-bye to Canderous before heading back out. When he emerged from the swoop hangar, he found the rest of the crew huddled around the holoprojector.

"But the Sith will recognize you, won't they?" Jarek heard Alora say to Bastila.

"Perhaps. Most of them only know my name, but some might recognize my face. I'll have to stay behind, for the sake of our mission."

"Okay."

It took several minutes before the group decided who was leaving and who would be staying behind, and nobody even seemed to notice Jarek's presence. In the end, Carth and Juhani decided to leave with Alora, while the others stayed behind.

"I'm not in the mood to deal with Sith right now," said Jarek, and everyone jumped to see him standing behind them. "I'm staying on the _Hawk_."

So Alora, Carth, and Juhani all packed up their equipment and weapons. "If we get into any trouble," she said, "we'll let you know." Jarek nodded. The three of them marched down the loading ramp and out of sight. Jarek sealed it up and went into the kitchen to sit down.

He found a spot near the doorway and took a seat there. After a while he saw Canderous head off to the crew quarters to sleep. The droid they had bought on Taris, T3-M4, had been shut down temporarily. Bastila was at the cockpit, tinkering with something, and Mission was at the workbench, working on her vibroblade. Zaalbar, as usual, was eating. Jarek began to wonder how they would have enough food to last. Eventually they would probably have to hide some from Zaalbar, Jarek figured, and forced a chuckle.

Jarek wasn't sure what to do, since there wasn't really anything _to _do on the _Ebon Hawk_. But then, he thought, he didn't really know much about anyone else's past. He knew Mission's story, and part of Carth's past, but since Canderous was resting, he couldn't ask him. So he stood up and approached the only person he didn't know about -- Bastila.

She didn't speak a word when he entered or sat down, and there was a moment of awkward silence afterward.

"What are you doing?" he asked her.

"Making sure everything's online. I don't like this planet. I don't like to think about what the Sith would do if they caught us."

"You're acting paranoid," he said. "You've been here ever since Alora left."

"It's only been several minutes," she said absent-mindedly.

"That's more than long enough to know everything's fine." Jarek gently took her hands with his own, and put them on her lap. "What's wrong? You're acting like Carth."

"I suppose...it's just the Sith. They're absolutely everywhere. If they find out I'm on here...."

"I wouldn't let them touch you," said Jarek.

Bastila looked away to hide a blush. "Thank you. I've seen what you can do with your lightsaber. You're incredible."

Feeling she was trying to change the subject, he said modestly, "Not really."

"Where'd you learn it?" she asked.

Jarek paused. "My father." Just the thought of him was painful. "He taught me swordfighting when I was a young boy, to protect myself. He fought in the war of Exar Kun and taught me afterward. He wanted me to learn to defend myself. He was a Republic officer."

"Was?"

"He died during the Mandalorian Wars. He met my mother after the previous war and then they had me. After that, he didn't want to go back to war. He wanted to stay there with us. But he was forced to leave. I don't remember all of it; I was too young. All I remember is seeing my mother crying in her chair, waiting. We waited for days after the war. He never came home."

"You think he's dead?"

Jarek forced himself to say it. "Yes."

"Do you have any proof that he is?"

"Not really," he whispered, staring out the window. "They found his helmet and his vibroblade, but nothing else. I remember someone knocking on our door one day, and saw a Republic captain standing in the doorway. He gave my mother the helmet and the blade." Jarek closed his eyes, trying to find a way to say it without bursting into tears.

"And my mother...she was taken away shortly after by the Mandalorians. I...I watched them...." The harsh memory of this would not allow Jarek to finish his sentence. All the images of that horrible day came flooding back into his mind.

"I'm so sorry," she said earnestly.

"They slaughtered her like a wild bantha. She was so old, there was nothing she could do. So...I picked up the sword of a fallen soldier and killed them. I killed them all!" He slammed his fist down on the console, nearly shattering a monitor screen. Bastila tried to calm him.

"There is no emotion," she said.

"There is peace," Jarek finished. "I'm sorry. That wasn't something I've had to relive too many times." Desperate to change the subject, Jarek asked about Bastila's parents.

"Naturally, I left them to go join the Order," she said. "I was partially glad to leave, though. Not everyone in family was on good terms."

"Good terms?"

Bastila nodded.

"Who didn't you get along with?"

"My mother and I...weren't close. She pushed my father into one treasure hunt after another, and I hated her for it. We spent nearly all our money getting his equipment, but he rarely found anything of value. I was glad to be away from my mother once and for all, but cried over my father. I loved him so much, and sat for three days in my bedroom thinking it over, whether or not to leave. In the end, my parents -- my mother, at least, decided it would be best for me to go. She wasn't heartbroken that I left. In fact, I suppose it made her more cheerful. That's why I hated her so much."

"Do you still hate her for what she's done?"

"Sometimes, when I'm alone at night, I wish I hadn't left in the first place. I wish my father and I could have gone to some place in the hills where we could live in peace, without my mother prying him away from me to go look for gold."

"You didn't answer my question."

"So I didn't." Bastila paused, looking down at the floor, a different emotion flashing across her face every second. "Yes, sometimes, I do still hate her for what she's done."

"The Council wouldn't like to hear that," said Jarek.

"True. I'm not acting very much like a Jedi."

"I don't mind," he said. "It's good to know you're not always huffy, edgy, and overly critical all the time."

"I am _not_!" Bastila protested indignantly. "I --"

"You are sometimes, but that's nothing to worry about."

"Of course it is! Don't you realize? These emotions can lead to the dark side! Look at all the Jedi who have fallen because they weren't _perfect_ all the time!"

"What about the Jedi who _were _perfect? Like Revan."

"Please don't talk about Revan."

"Why?" Bastila said nothing, but avoided Jarek's eyes. "I know it's hard. I feel guilty about it, too."

"But you must remember the Council's reason for this! We need to find whatever it is Revan and Malak found after the Mandalorian --"

"I know their reasons, Bastila," Jarek sighed. "But hardly ever does it help. Sometimes I wish I could just tell someone."

"But you know what problems that might cause!" said Bastila.

"I do know. And I'm smart enough to only _think_ about doing it. I've had to live that way all my life. Besides, they'll find out eventually. It is inevitable." By "they" Jarek meant Alora and the others.

"I suppose you're right. But we need to keep it a secret for as long as we can. It's --" But Bastila broke off, and both she and Jarek jerked their heads behind them and stared, as if waiting for a river of gizka to pour into the room. "Do you feel it too?" she asked. "Hatred.... But it stands out."

"Something's happening with Carth," said Jarek, squeezing his eyes shut. "I can feel it. He's in pain...but not physical pain." Jarek remembered the radio Alora took with her.

_If we get into any trouble, we'll let you know._

For a fleeting moment he considered contacting her, but thought better of it. She could be overheard by the Sith, and that would only cause problems.

"I think I'm going to go to bed," said Jarek after a moment. "I'm too tired to wait for them." He slid his chair back and stood up, saying farewell to Bastila. He walked very fast to the starboard quarters, where he found Canderous asleep and snoring softly. He took off the jacket he had been wearing (he didn't wear his Jedi robed — he didn't want to arouse suspicion that he was a Jedi) and hung it on the rack, put his boots by the bed and slipped under the covers. For the first time since he had met her, he had actually been glad to be with Bastila today. He didn't know how their relationship would develop and how far it would go, but he couldn't help sneaking in a few thoughts about it.

Jarek awoke far before he should have. The sun was setting and he was still extremely tired, but he climbed out of bed anyway when he saw Canderous gone and Alora back on the _Ebon Hawk_. Carth, however, was nowhere in sight.

"Where's Carth?" asked Jarek groggily when he came out. Alora looked around the room nervously to make sure no one was looking. She grabbed Jarek by the arm and pulled him back into the room. She closed and locked the door. "What's going on?" he said. "What are you doing?"

"How much has Carth told you about his past?" Alora asked.

"He..." said Jarek, probing his memory. "He told me all the way up until Saul. He didn't get past mentioning him."

"Okay," said Alora, pacing the room and trying to find the best way to say it. "Well, Saul betrayed the Republic, as you probably have already surmised. But it's more than that. Malak ordered Saul to bomb Carth's home planet, Telos. His...his wife was killed in the attack. He had a son, Dustil. After the attack, he searched for him. For years he was looking but there was no sign of him anywhere. Finally, he gave up, too miserable to continue. Carth says he had originally planned on flying his own ship to kill Saul. He always thought he would either die trying or die escaping.

"But today...." Alora inhaled deeply, not sure how to say it. "We found out Dustil did survive. He's...he's become a Sith."

"What?" Jarek blurted out

"He's training here at the Sith Academy. When Carth came, he...he was full of such hatred. He said he was disappointed Carth was there. He wished him to have died in his 'mad quest for revenge.'

"Carth couldn't convince him to change his ways, but promised Dustil he would find proof that the Sith were evil. Then we left."

Jarek just sat, open-mouthed, gaping at Alora, for what seemed an eternity. Then the shock subdued and he spoke. "How did you get into the Sith Academy?" he asked.

"Oh, that. I told them I had once been a Jedi and had fallen, so they took me to see Master Uthar, the leader there. He accepted me into the Academy. I haven't learned much yet, but Master Uthar's apprentice, Yuthura Ban, plans to kill him with my help, so she can become ruler of the Academy...."

Alora went on to tell Jarek about everything she had learned so far. She told him that Master Uthar told her about the Valley of the Dark Lords, the burying place where they kept the four most famous Sith Masters of all times. She said that one of the tombs was sealed off for all of the students, and that she guessed the Star Map was hidden there.

"I'm going to bed," she said afterward. "Tomorrow we'll continue with our mission."

She turned around and began to undress. Jarek turned his back on her and stepped out of the room, knowing to close the door behind him.

Jarek headed for the quarters on the other side of the ship, put his head on the pillow of the nearest bed and closed his eyes. He didn't go to sleep, but he reminisced the day's events — his conversation with Bastila, Alora's news about Carth's son, and everything else. After about thirty minutes of lying there awake, he heard Bastila enter and lay down in her bunk. He didn't know how long it was until he fell asleep again.

Jarek woke up the following morning before the sun had even risen. He clambered out of bed and stood up. In the other beds he saw Bastila, Carth, and Mission all sleeping soundly. He quietly slipped out of the room and looked out of the window of the cockpit. The sky was still black, and nobody was out patrolling the area around the _Ebon Hawk_ like they usually were. He tiptoed back through the ship and jumped back when Zaalbar came into view around the corner.

"Oh," he whispered. "It's just you." A horrible feeling in the pit of his stomach that Zaalbar had just been munching on the remnants of their food supply, Jarek crept over to the ladder that led to the top of the ship Outside it was equally silent as interior of the _Ebon Hawk. _Millions of starts dotted the otherwise black sky and the cold breeze gave Jarek goose bumps.

He turned to face the ladder, extended his arm, and a moment later a hot cup of coffee zoomed into his outstretched fingers. He took one sip and instantly felt warmth spread throughout his body. Every inch of his skin warmed up, his eyes opened fully, and his face felt clear of all wrinkles and blemishes.

Jarek stood silently watching the stars, pondering everything that was happening lately. Nothing was the same anymore. Not since he signed up to protect Bastila on the _Endar Spire_. And the only reason he agreed was because Galnar had signed up. If he hadn't ever done that, Jarek wouldn't have done it, he would have never met Bastila, they would have never found Alora, and he wouldn't be standing here where he was now. There were some advantages, yes, and Jarek was getting experience in the real world, but sometimes he wished he had never been discovered as Force sensitive.

It was nearly twenty minutes later when he heard footsteps behind him and wheeled around to see Alora climbing up the top of the ladder, holding a cup of coffee as well. He looked down in his own mug and stared at the lukewarm drink that was inside it.

Jarek and Alora silently greeted each other by smiling, and she took her place standing next to him, gazing up at the cloudless sky with him.

"What are you doing up this early?" asked Jarek. "Out of all of us, you need to get the most rest."

"I couldn't sleep," she replied simply. Jarek nodded and took another swig of his cold drink.

"What are the plans for today?" he asked.

"We're going back to the Academy. I need to gain enough prestige to be accepted as this year's Sith."

Jarek turned to look at her, an eyebrow raised. "You _want _to be a Sith?"

"Only a real Sith can go into the locked tomb in the Valley of the Dark Lords. Like I said, I think the Star Map is hidden inside. I couldn't think of a better place for them to hide it. But I haven't even been to the Valley. That's where we're going to go today." Jarek nodded and was about to take a drink when he realized that he wasn't in the mood to drink cold coffee in a freezing sunrise. He stepped over to the edge of the _Hawk, _checked to make sure nobody was watching,and dumped the contents of his mug onto the ground below. When he returned to Alora, he saw she was smiling widely, obviously amused by this deed.

There was a moment of awkward silence, in which both Alora and Jarek stood staring at the stars, until she spoke.

"Can we talk?"

Jarek turned to her and said, "Uh, sure."

"I've seen what you can do with a lightsaber, Jarek. You're...amazing. I wish I could do the things you can. And the truth is, I've come to depend on you. Not just for the sake of our mission, but for my own safety as well." She took a step closer to him, but he decided to ignore it. "I'm...I'm glad you came with us," she said

"The Council asked me to," was all he could think to say.

"I know, but I mean, when I'm with you, I feel safe. I feel like no evil can touch me. Like...like you'll protect me." She took another step toward him, but he remained still.

"Of course I will. Without you...." Her expression changed to a bemused look. "Nevermind," he said, his eyes lining up with hers.

Their eyes were locked into each other's for what seemed like hours. And then Alora, who was already mere inches from him, leaned in closer. For a moment Jarek remained still, until he came to his senses. He took a step backward.

"No," he said softly. "I...I can't."

She backed away too, apparently slightly embarrassed, and said, "Why not?" only loud enough for him to hear.

He made an excuse. "I'm a Jedi. It's not normal."

"You don't act like a Jedi most of the time," she said inoffensively.

"I know. I...I'm sorry. Please. I can't." Jarek turned and walked away, down the ladder and back to his bed.

She didn't stop him.

Later that morning, Alora, Jarek, and Carth all left to the Sith Academy that was located past Dreshdae, the town in that area. They entered through the enormous front door, down a long, empty, winding corridor and to the very heart of the academy, where Alora approached a bald man who was kneeling in the center of the room. The whole time Jarek felt as though Alora was avoiding his eyes.

"Greetings, my pupil," said the man, who Jarek now noticed had tattoos covering his face. "So you return another day, another day to learn the ways of the Sith." He smiled at Alora.

"Yes, Master Uthar," she said, bowing. "Of course." Uthar smiled again and returned to his meditation. The three of them left.

"No," said Carth when he realized they were leaving to the Valley of the Dark Lords. "We're not going out there yet."

"Why not?"

"Because we have to find that proof for Dustil."

"Carth," said Jarek seriously, "I know how you feel right now, but there are other things on our mind." Carth ignored Jarek and turned to Alora with a pleading look.

"I think...I think we could look for a while, and if we don't find anything...."

"Thank you," said Carth. Jarek sighed quietly and followed them. They searched the academy for nearly fifteen minutes before they found themselves in a dueling room. A Sith with a single red lightsaber was fighting a man in ragged robes. Jarek watched fervently as the Sith student took several hits to non-critical areas of his body, and in the end he was victorious. The man in the torn clothes fell dead to the ground. Jarek heard Alora utter a quiet gasp.

"You want to try next?" the student asked Alora. "I'm done." He revealed a deep wound in his side, and then covered it again with his hand. "You only have three prisoners to fight, so try not to have _too _much fun." And the Sith left for the infirmary, Alora shooting one last look of disgust at him. Upon hearing cries of pain, she turned her head and saw a student torturing some Republic prisoners by using Force Lightning.

"Don't," said Jarek, seeing the horrified look on her face. "We have to find the Star Map, remember? We can't blow our cover." Alora resisted her temptation to jump forward and free the prisoners. Jarek, trying to distract her, pointed her to a console near the entrance.

"I can hack it," she whispered. She set down her backpack inconspicuously and took out some computer spikes. Jarek watched as she hacked into the system.

Command?

With a quick glance behind his shoulder, Jarek looked down at the options written on the screen.

1. View Academy Surveillance Video

2. Release Prisoners

3. View Academy Datafiles

Alora paused for a moment, her hand hovering over the second option, but chose the third instead.

Loading Datafiles...

FILE: Student Dustil Onasi

FORCE POTENTIAL: Considerable

DETAILS: Fellow Student Selene Hindering Progress...

Further file details downloaded to personal Datapad.

Authorization: Uthar Wynn

"Uthar?" whispered Alora.

"We need to get that datapad," said Carth anxiously. "We have to get into Uthar Wynn's room and _get that datapad!_"

"But who can pick the lock on his door?" said Alora.

"Teethree," Jarek muttered. "If it can pick the lock on the Sith military base, it can do this." It was true. T3-M4 was the only one who could break into Uthar's room. "Let's go."

The three of them traipsed out of the academy, went back through Dreshdae, and to the _Ebon Hawk_.T3-M4 lit up with glee when they beckoned him over.

Retracing their steps through the Sith Academy, the four of them crept to Master Uthar's door and acted as though they were deeply fascinated by it. When the only guard nearby had swept away to continue his patrol, T3 got to work.

Jarek didn't watch the droid pick the lock, however -- he had taken a few steps from the door and kept a lookout for anyone coming by. Whistling quietly, he nodded and smiled at anyone who passed. After a few boring minutes, he heard the stone door rumble behind him. When he turned around, the others were already inside scouring Master Uthar's quarters.

"Here it is!" said Alora triumphantly as she held up a datapad over her head.

Apart from various notes by Master Uthar, she found a piece about Selene and Dustil. Alora scanned it silently, while the others read over her shoulder.

_**The pupil known as Dustil has shown remarkable progress. His talent with the Force is great. The same, however, cannot be said about the human female that he arrived with, Selene. She has little talent. Moreover, Dustil holds a great degree of affection for her. This is a weakness in the boy and is slowing down his training. Orders were sent this morning to have the girl removed from the academy and terminated. I will tell Dustil she was killed in the valley. He will forget her soon enough, I think.... He is too strong to lose at this juncture.**_

"I wonder if Dustil knows his friend was disposed of like that," said Carth. "If not, that could be our proof for him." Jarek nodded.

Carth was practically running when they left. Alora and Jarek had difficulty keeping up with him, and eventually had to tell him to slow down. They headed back to the student quarters and approached a young man with smooth, black hair. Jarek noticed his mouth and nose was very much like Carth's own, though his eyes seemed unfamiliar.

"Back already?" said Dustil coldly. "So, where's that 'proof' you promised me, Father?"

"Right here," said Carth, handing his son the datapad. Dustil, still in disbelief, scanned the datapad. Once he started reading, however, his expression changed completely. His mouth was open and his brows were furrowed, and when he had finished he looked up and dropped the datapad.

"That...that's not true," he said, struggling to find his tongue.

"It is, Dustil, and you know it."

"But Master Uthar said she died in the Valley of the Dark Lords."

"Did you read the datapad, son? He said he would tell you that."

All that came out of Dustil's mouth was stammering.

"Is that enough proof, Dustil, or do you want to wait until the Sith kill someone else you know?"

"No," the boy replied. "I...think that's enough for me."

"Good. That's the son I know. Now, will you come with us?"

"No," said Dustil. "I need to...I need to find out more about all this. I need to...."

"I understand, Dustil. Just be careful."

"I'm still not sure about..." Dustil was sizing Carth up. "About us, but I'll see. Maybe, after all this is over, we can...meet? On Telos?"

"I would like that, Dustil. I would like that a lot." Before Dustil could do or say anything, Carth took him in what looked like a painful embrace. He didn't resist, though. He didn't smile or scowl, either. When Carth let go, he spoke.

"I'll see you later...Father." And he ran off.

Carth turned to Alora. "Thank you," he said. "Thank you for helping, both of you."

And for the first time in a long time, Carth smiled.

Over the next few days, Alora, Jarek, and Carth (who seemed considerably happier) searched the tombs in the Valley of the Dark Lords to gain prestige. In the tomb of Ajunta Pall, they retrieved that Sith Master's double-bladed sword and killed a hopeful who tried to take it from them. The blade, however, they did not return to Master Uthar, as they figured they could use it later.

In the tomb of Marko Ragnos, they found a rogue assassin droid hidden away deep inside. They tinkered with the droid's systems and deleted its assassination function so it could escape. The droid thanked them profusely and left. They told Master Uthar that they had dealt with the droid.

They also explored the Shyrack caves and found the rebel Sith students they had been told of. They killed a giant terentatek and cleared the way for the students to leave. They lied to Master Uthar and told him they had killed the students.

"Very good, my pupil," he said, and after a brief pause, added, "I think, by estimation, you have gained enough prestige by now to...further your training." A wicked smile flashed across Uthar's face and he flung out his arms. Jarek thought at first that he was going to give her the kind of bone-cracking hug Carth had given Dustil, but instead, Uthar placed his arms around her, quickly let go, and patted her on the back saying, "Congratulations."

"What now, Master Uthar?" she asked.

"We will make preparations to enter Naga Sadow's tomb and complete your training. Your companions," he added, turning to Jarek and Carth, "I'm afraid, will not be able to join you on this expedition. Now, get some rest for tomorrow, and then we will go." Alora said good-bye and trudged off to her quarters while Jarek and Carth headed back to the _Ebon Hawk._

"I'm happy for you, Carth," Jarek told him as they were walking. He didn't tell him, though, that Alora had already explained Carth's story. "I hope you get everything cleared up with Dustil."

"Thanks." Carth smiled again. "Hey, you want to get a drink?"

"Sure," said Jarek, and they bought some ale from the bartender at the cantina.

Carth told Jarek about the Mandalorian Wars. He talked about how brutal and ruthless the Mandalorians were. He told him how Revan was such a tactical genius and of some of the plans Revan devised.

But soon the conversation turned to what the Council said to Bastila and Jarek on Dantooine.

"Carth, you know I can't tell you that. It's private Jedi business."

"Well, why could Alora hear about it, then?" said Carth, taking another swig of his ale.

"She's a Jedi," he replied stubbornly. When Carth didn't seem the least bit satisfied, he said, "I just fear it would be too much of a shock for you."

Carth scoffed. "I've been through the Mandalorian Wars. What can you say that would shock me?"

"No, Carth, not like that. A different of shock. One I can't explain without giving it all away. It's...just private Jedi business, like I said."

"I knew better not to ask Bastila, but I didn't think you wouldn't tell me anything."

"We swore to keep it a secret," said Jarek, feeling angry.

"I figured that."

"Carth, when a Jedi promises something...well, it's like when _you _promised Dustil you'd find him proof about the Sith."

Carth sighed. "You're right. I guess I was...well, I'm used to being a captain, and maybe I forgot that I'm not right now."

"Right," said Jarek, who was glad Carth _finally _realized it.

"It's about Alora, isn't it?" said Carth.

Jarek inhaled deeply. He had to tell the truth. "Yes." Carth leaned back against his chair and rubbed his chin.

"What about her?" he said.

"No. I've said too much already. I shouldn't --"

"Fine, then. If you don't want to tell me --"

"It's not that I don't want to. I _can't_. Look, Carth, it'll be revealed eventually. It has to happen sometime."

"True," said Carth. "I guess after all my life I still haven't learned patience."

Now _he gets it, _thought Jarek angrily.

Carth looked down at his watch. "We better go. We'll need rest to pick up Alora tomorrow morning."

Carth pushed his chair back, and stood up. Jarek did the same. Carth tossed a few credits on the table and they left. Both men were silent on the way back to the _Ebon Hawk, _and Jarek wasn't sure he really wanted to talk anyway.

_Carth was a real child back there, _he thought to himself. _Can't he just accept that some things don't concern him? I should have never told him anything. _

When they reached the ship, Carth headed for the kitchen to get a snack and Jarek went to the armory.

_Two...six...four...four... _He entered the code on the keypad and heard the locks clicking out and the door opened.

It was incredible, really, how many weapons they had already acquired. Nearly a dozen blasters sat on the shelf, at least twenty swords hanging from the rack, and an empty container for lightsabers. Jarek laughed softly at the sight of it -- he always carried his lightsaber with him, as did all Jedi. But, he thought, there can always be spare lightsabers.

Jarek approached his father's vibroblade and gently took it down. He unsheathed the sword and looked at his own reflection in the durasteel blade. He would no doubt use this one day, but he dreaded the moment it came. This sword was specially made by the finest Echani craftsman in the galaxy. The blade was indestructible and made with a cortosis weave. Jarek had never used it once after they found it, and he had no intention of using it soon.

He put the sheath back on the blade and put it carefully in its place. He left the armory and sealed it again. With no intention of sleeping soon, Jarek remembered the hidden passageway that led to the side-mounted turrets. He had only tried the one on the starboard side of the ship, and decided to take a look at the other.

When he reached the crew quarters on the port side, he found Mission sitting on one of the beds, reading a datapad.

"Hey," she said, not looking up.

"What're you reading?" said Jarek.

"A book," she replied simply.

"Right," Jarek muttered, and went to the bed at the north end of the room. He sat down on it and scanned the buttons on the pad at the foot of the bed.

"Whatcha doing?" she asked.

"Trying to find the button.... Here it is!" Jarek found the same green button as last time, except here it was pointing in the other direction, corresponding with the wall on this side. Mission watched in awe as the bed began to sink into the ground and reveal the corridor that led to the turret.

"Cool!" she said. Jarek climbed off of the bed and set off down the bronze-colored metal passage. Mission jumped down and followed him.

It was the same except for a locked door halfway into it.

"Hmm," said Jarek, pushing against it. "I wonder where this leads to."

"Ooh!" squealed Mission, and she took out a small knife. She pulled out a couple of small gadgets from the knife's handle and inserted them into what appeared to be a keyhole on the door. "Hey!" she said. "It won't go in!"

"Whoever made this obviously didn't want people going in," said Jarek. "What could be inside it?"

"I don't know," said Mission, a bit put-out that her knife didn't work. "Maybe we'll find out later.

Mission turned around to leave, but saw the turret at the end of the corridor. "Whoa! So _that's _where these are! I never knew how to get there before." Jarek smiled at her fascination.

"Come on," he said, and they walked back through the dingy passageway and to the bed. Jarek pressed the button and they ascended.

"Hey!" he said. "Shoes off the bed!"

It was midday before Jarek decided to find Alora. He had been up for a few hours before they left, and he and Carth headed back through Dreshdae to the Sith Academy.

The guard at the entrance halted them.

"You are not a student nor do you bear a medallion. You cannot enter the academy."

"We've come to see the student Alora Danis!" said Carth importantly.

"Be that as it may, you are not a student and cannot enter the Sith Academy."

"We won't cause problems."

"It's not me that's saying this. It's Uthar. He's made it specific that _you _can't go inside." The guard cleared his throat. "Section B, Clause 15 of the Decree of the Sith Academy of Korriban states...er, how did it go? Oh yes...

"'_Only students who have been accepted into the Academy for training are permitted to enter and leave said Academy. Non-students may only enter if they are accompanied by a Sith or student who have given permission to the non-student or non-students in question or have—' "_

The guard was cut off as the doors to the academy opened and Alora emerged, clutching her side. She was bruised and had several minor cuts on her face.

She tipped forward and lost her balance. Jarek and Carth caught her before she hit the ground. They each put one of her arms around their shoulders, and lifted her up to full height.

"Let's...go back...to the _Hawk,_" she panted. So they carried her back to the ship and patched her up.

"What happened in that tomb?" Jarek asked after she had recovered.

"They took me inside to find the Star Map. I had to fight two tarentateks."

"Two?!" said Jarek in disbelief. "That's impossible! Fighting one with aid is hard enough, but how did you fight two on your own?"

"It wasn't easy," she sighed. "I recovered Naga Sadow's poison blade —" she showed Jarek a long, silver blade that had obviously been wiped clean of blood "— and finally got to the Star Map. It was incomplete, though. I couldn't figure out where it was pointing. I think we'll need to check the other planets, too."

"What happened after you found the Star Map?"

"I returned to Uthar and Yuthura. Uthar tried to kill me, but Yuthura and I fought him. After he died, she told me she would have to kill me as well. I fought again. She was badly wounded. I tried to convince her to change her ways and she considered it. She never told me where she left to, but she limped out of the tomb. When I came out, she was gone. And then I came back."

"How did you survive all that?" said Jarek.

"I don't know. Maybe it was the Force."

Yeah, Jarek thought. It was the Force.

He walked up to the cockpit where he found Carth and Bastila sitting in the pilot's and co-pilot's seat and asked, "Where to next?"

"I was thinking to go to Tatooine," Carth replied, "but it's not my place. Where do you think?"

"I think we all deserve a nice break to Dantooine," said Jarek. Bastila nodded.

"Sounds good to me." And they were off.

Questions? Suggestions? E-mail me! Chapter Six coming soon -- Part 1 of Tatooine! Huzzah!


	7. A Well Earned Vacation

Right, I know I said that the next chapter was going to be Tatooine, but I forgot that this chapter was in between. I'm sure some of you might have noticed the contradiction when Jarek said they should go to Dantooine next, but nobody's perfect, so stop laughing! :(

Enjoy...

Their flight was much longer than usual this time. After Carth had taken off, Jarek just strolled about the ship, hoping for something to do. He went into the kitchen, but he wasn't hungry. He entered the swoop hangar, but he didn't need his weapons upgraded and couldn't ride the swoop bike around the ship. He headed to the cargo hold but had no use for the items laying around such as spare boots, snacks, or illegal spice that Davik had kept locked in a cupboard (Alora had found it earlier while looking for a spare suit of armor).

So, with nothing better to do, Jarek took a seat near the corridor to the cockpit and picked up a book entitled, _A Wookiee's Love: Lost in the Forest, Volume 5_.Frowning slightly out of interest, he pressed for page one and began to read. It was a very interesting book indeed, but Jarek, who was not in any mood to read a novel about Wookiees who were searching for their lost loves in the Shadowlands, tossed it aside, wondering idly who might have purchased it.

So Jarek waited, watching his teammates stroll by and occasionally waving genially, while the _Ebon Hawk _flew in hyperspace.

At long last, the _Ebon Hawk _landed gracefully next to the Jedi Enclave on Dantooine. When they touched down, however, nobody had plans of visiting the Council. They did not need to speak with them at the moment anyway. When they left, Alora called the crew up for the traditional deciding on who would be leaving with her. Canderous remained on the ship along with T3 and Zaalbar (who only stayed to eat), and Juhani, Jarek, Bastila, Carth, and Mission had chosen to accompany Alora.

"Dantooine," said Bastila after they disembarked, inhaling deeply. "Such a beautiful planet."

_If only we could stay here... _

Jarek heard these words by looking into her mind, but withdrew quickly incase she felt him.

_Why don't you? _he asked her.

_You know perfectly well what the Council said, _she replied, apparently very used to her teammates communicating with her through thought. _You know about Alora. We were assigned to keep an eye on her. Things could get out of hand if we don't stay. _

_True. But when this is all over, I wouldn't mind having a long, quiet stay here..._

They passed through the enclave and slipped out of the eastern exit. They had made it a good distance from the enclave and were about to set off to the grassy hills when a woman by a landspeeder hailed them.

"Excuse me, Master Jedi," she said anxiously, "but I am in need of your assistance."

Alora stopped and spun around to face her. "What's your name?" she inquired.

"Elise," she replied simply.

"What's wrong, Elise?" asked Alora.

"My partner has gone missing, you see. I have been looking for days and I cannot find him!" said Elise hurriedly, as if trying to get it all out before her time ran out.

"Your partner?" said Alora uncertainly.

"Yes!" she cried. "I was outside planting and he was inside doing dishes, and...and when I came back, he was..._gone!_" Eyes suddenly sparkling with tears, Elise raised her hands and sobbed into them.

"Well.... Maybe someone around here holds a grudge against him?" said Alora.

"Well, you see, nobody really...knows he's there," said Elise sheepishly. Jarek suspiciously raised an eyebrow — was she doing anything illegal?

"Could it have been the Mandalorians?" he suggested.

"Maybe," said Elise. "Or could it have been kath hounds? No, no, they aren't intelligent enough to open doors...."

"This happened while the kath hounds were vicious?" said Alora, glancing at a pack of them in the distance.

"Yes. Last week, you see. I've been searching since then, but no one will help me!" she sobbed.

"Did someone pick the lock on the door?" Alora asked curiously.

"No, the door showed no signs of tampering," said Elise thoughtfully.

"Could it have been opened from the _inside?_"

"Possibly. But he would never attempt to leave! We programmed him —"

"He's a _droid_?!" Jarek blurted out before he could stop himself.

"Well...yes...he's a droid," she said, eyeing him nervously. "My husband built him for me before he died, and now that they're both gone, I don't...I don't know...." She sobbed yet again into her hands. Jarek and Carth exchanged a quick glance, rolled their eyes, and looked away.

"Okay, ma'am," said Alora slowly. "We'll find your...erm...droid."

"Oh, thank you! Thank you, Master Jedi! I knew I could trust you!" Elise seemed to be resisting the urge to run forward and hug Alora. "Please, if you find him, bring him back to me!"

"I...I will," Alora said rather awkwardly.

"Wow, she really misses that droid, doesn't she?" Mission said quietly as they left.

"Don't be so hard on her," said Bastila calmly. "She's lost a very important person in her life, and the droid is all she has to remember him by."

"Yeah, I guess. But still, she's a little...obsessive."

"Maybe a little," said Jarek, grinning broadly.

"Can we move on?" said Alora impatiently. "If we happen to come across that droid of hers, I guess we should bring it back. But I want to look around a bit more. During my training, I only went down as far as the grove to find Juhani, but nothing past that. Master Zhar spoke of caves here; maybe we might find them."

But they didn't find any caves. They continued through the hills and at the peak of a particularly tall one overlooking a small valley, they saw a large estate lying down below. An elderly man was outside, apparently scavenging his yard for something.

"What are you looking for?" Alora asked when they reached the bottom of the valley.

"My son, Shen, has gone missing! I know the Sandrals are to blame for this! I know it! If I ever get my hands on him, ooh, I'll —"

"Who are the Sandrals?" interjected Alora.

"A blight upon Dantooine, that's what they are!" he replied furiously.

"What happened?" she asked politely. The old man glowered at her for a moment, then let out a barely audible sigh.

"Nurik Sandral's son went missing a few weeks ago, and he blamed me for it! Me! But I never touched his filthy brat son. So, in retaliation, he kidnapped Shen!"

"Are you sure the Sandrals are to blame?" Alora asked.

The old man scoffed.

"Of course they are to blame! If you knew the facts, you would think so too! Look. You're a Jedi. Maybe you have the permission to...search their estate." Though the old man knew this wasn't true, he seemed desperate.

"We can go to their house," said Jarek, "but I doubt we'll be able to enter."

"I'll give you one thousand credits if you find my son! Just, please, look for him! He's my only heir!"

Alora agreed to look for him, though halfheartedly, and took the others with her down the valley and back into the rolling hills. This peaceful visit was obviously not going to be as peaceful as they had hoped.

Walking south, the group continued through a few more farms. Jarek noticed a few packs of napping kath hounds along the way, barely visible inside the tall grass. A few of them poked their heads up to see who was passing but did not attack. Now that Juhani had stopped using her powers to inflict violence in the kath hounds, they were no longer a threat unless provoked.

Along the way, they stumbled upon a body in a particularly tall patch of grass, of a boy who could not have been any older than nineteen. There was a vest of armor on the boy's corpse, and deep claw marks on his side. He had been killed by kath hounds. Jarek picked up a diary from his remains, a diary with a name scribbled on it: _Casus Sandral_.

Jarek gave the diary to Alora, who merely glanced at the front and stowed it in her back pocket.

Not long after that, they had a clear view of the Sandral grounds. They were about to proceed to the estate when they heard scratching noises from behind them, and turned to see a droid being attacked by three kath hounds. The droid, however, did not even seem to notice it was being injured.

Jarek shot a bolt of lightning up into the air in an attempt to distract the kath hounds. The beasts turned their horned heads to look, and, seizing his chance, Jarek tossed his lightsaber at the nearest one. As he grasped it firmly in his hand again, the other two charged.

Mission and Carth ducked behind a large rock and fired with their blasters, but the four Jedi sprinted forward and fought with their lightsabers.

At one point Alora got scraped badly in her side by one of the beasts' sharp claws, used the Force to push it away, and quickly healed herself with kolto. Jarek had trouble fighting his own kath hound, and found that his lightsaber had no effect on their horns whatsoever.

In the end, they were victorious. Just as the Jedi were about to return to the others, they heard a rustling behind them and turned only to see another kath hound. This one, however, was quite unlike the others — its body and horns were a great deal larger, its tail longer, and it was colored a pasty white.

It was an albino kath hound.

The beast growled and charged. Jarek's reflexes kicked in; he did a back flip just in time to miss the creature's attack and landed on his feet behind it. Before the kath hound could turn around, he sliced the animal's hide. But it didn't have the effect Jarek had expected. On the contrary, the albino kath hound didn't seem the slightest bit injured. And then understood.

"It can resist lightsabers!" he yelled to the others, who all backed away. He turned back around and his last vision was of the albino kath hound charging at him, just before everything went black and he felt something enormous collide with him.

"Is he okay?"

"He's _dead!_"

"Don't be stupid. Look, he's still got a pulse."

"How hard do you think it hit him?"

"I don't know, but — wait, he's moving."

The voices sounded strangely distant. Opening his eyes, Jarek saw blurred figures huddled around him from high above. He tried to talk, but all that came out was a groan. As the figures slid into focus, he immediately recognized them as Carth, Mission, Bastila, Juhani, and Alora.

"Are you all right?" Bastila's voice came from the crowd. Jarek didn't have an answer.

"I...don't know," he said weakly. "What happened?"

"You were knocked out by that kath hound," she said softly. "We gave you some kolto and I used the Force to seal the wound, but it doesn't look like you've healed all the way. Don't sit up." Obeying Bastila's advice, Jarek remained motionless. He felt a hand upon his skin and grunted. It stung badly.

"You'll be all right. Here, just a little bit." Jarek felt a needle pierce his skin, and then a liquid being injected into his arm. The needle was removed, and his wounds (which seemed to be somewhere on his stomach) felt considerably better. He tried to push himself to his feet, and several of his teammates hoisted him up. By now he was able to open his eyes completely and see his surroundings clearly. He could feel large bandages wrapped around his torso under his robes, no doubt where the albino kath hound had hit him.

The white albino kath hound lay dead in the grass, and the droid who had been attacked was nowhere in sight.

"Where'd he go?" Jarek choked.

"He's been destroyed," said Alora.

"What?" he grunted, taken aback.

"The droid said his master, Elise, had become obsessive over him and did not meet any real people — human people — any longer. He wished to be destroyed so she could go out and see real people again, like she did when her husband was alive. He seemed to think it was best. We argued a bit about it, but in the end we all decided it was best that we destroyed him. I just hope Elise will understand why."

His arms around Bastila and Carth, Jarek and the others proceeded slowly down to the Sandral estate.

A battle droid awaited out front, clutching a repeater rifle.

"What is your business here?" it asked Alora brusquely. "If you are looking for Shen Matale, you are wasting your time. Nurik Sandral doesn't know where the boy is."

"We come with information about Nurik's son. Casus is dead."

"Dead, you say? Master Sandral would like to see you. Enter." The entrance to the estate clicked then opened. Alora and the others entered, looking around.

It was a few moments before Nurik Sandral arrived in the entrance hall. Alora and the others waited patiently until he came, examining the blooming trees and the running water in a small pond. "My droid informs me that you have information regarding my son," he said when he marched into the room. He was dark-skinned and tall, but visibly weak and balding.

"Yes," said Alora kindly. "I found your son out in the fields. He was killed by kath hounds."

"Kath hounds?" said Nurik in disbelief. "I was sure the Matale family was to blame."

"But they were not," said Alora, quickly changing the subject. "I have his diary. Take it." Alora gave the diary they found on the Sandral boy's corpse to Nurik.

"Thank you...very much. This is all I have to remember my son. Here, take this reward." Nurik gave Alora one hundred credits, which she took—Jarek noticed—very fervently.

"I have nothing more to say to you, so if you will please leave...." Alora nodded and Nurik left. Just as they had turned around to go...

"Wait!" A tall girl with jet-black hair had rushed in, panting. "Have you come seeking knowledge of Shen Matale?"

"No," said Alora honestly. "We came to inform Nurik that his son had died," she added gravely.

"Dead? Then it is as Father feared. How...how did he die?"

"He was killed by kath hounds," Alora replied.

"I have information regarding Shen Matale's location," said the girl after a slight pause. "You must understand, Father is very angry. He is doing things he doesn't normally do."

"What happened?" said Alora, slightly alarmed.

"Father...Father was irate about his son's disappearance. He blamed the Matale family for it, and in retaliation he kidnapped their son Shen! Father thinks Ahlan Matale will let his son go now that _his _son has been taken. But if they aren't to blame.... This has caused our families to be in the situation we are in now."

"Where is Shen?" Alora asked, taking a step closer to the Sandral girl. "What happened to him?

"He's fine...for now. Father put him in a cell, but the guards will never let you inside our house. So take this keycard —" she pulled a small chip from her shirt pocket and slipped it into Alora's hand "— and go in through the side entrance. You can sneak in and free Shen."

"Why do you care about him?"

This was a fair question, though Jarek. The girl looked a bit embarrassed at the query but said, "Shen and I.... Well, I met him one day and he...he was so nice to me. He wasn't what I expected, from what Father spoke about him. We made secret arrangements to meet each other frequently, and...kind of fell in love." The girl blushed furiously and looked down at the ground. But she looked back up seriously at Alora when she spoke again. "But, please, go free Shen. I fear Father will kill him now that he discovered my brother is dead." The girl gave Alora a pleading look. She nodded.

"I will do that now," she said. The girl beamed and turned around, leaving the way she came, and Alora, Jarek, and the others exited through the front door. They snuck around to a door on the opposite side of the estate and Alora used the keycard to open it.

"You have to stay here," she said to Jarek, who tried to follow her inside. "Your wound is too serious. You can't get banged up any more than you already are." Jarek opened his mouth to retort, but Bastila cut him off.

"I will stay with him," she said. "He needs protection."

"All right." Carth, Mission, Juhani, and Alora all stepped inside, sealing the door behind them and leaving Jarek and Bastila alone outside the door.

"Thanks," Jarek managed to say, just above a whisper. Bastila smiled awkwardly.

"You're welcome."

"Why'd you do it?" he asked.

"Because you need someone to protect you," she said. "And I don't want you to go and get killed on me. You're a good friend."

"We can be more than friends, Bastila," Jarek heard himself say, surprised that it had come out of his own mouth. Bastila turned and looked at him, taken aback, obviously not expecting that reply.

"You...you know that's not allowed," she said timidly. "We're Jedi. We...we can't get involved like that."

"Why not?"

"Because, emotions like that lead to other emotions like hate and anger which leads to the dark side. Do you want to take that chance?"

He would take that chance, he knew, only for someone he _really _loved...

"Maybe," he said.

"You shouldn't. I wouldn't want you to do that...even for me." Jarek nodded and they both fell silent. This awkward silence was broken, however, by blaster fire and the hum of a lightsaber from inside the estate. Followed by that was an explosion and a clank. A droid had been defeated. Bastila stood up.

"Don't go," Jarek groaned. She looked down at him again, but didn't move.

Another long silence followed this. Neither of them spoke, and there was no sound from inside the Sandral estate or outside in the rolling hills. Jarek and Bastila both sat looking at the door, hoping something would happen.

After a long wait, the others returned from the estate with a tan, somewhat short boy with shaved hair and tattered clothes. Bastila helped Jarek up.

"Where's Rahasia?" the boy asked.

"She must have gone out the front," Alora replied. "She wasn't inside."

"Let's go," he said immediately. The group proceeded to the front entrance, where Rahasia Sandral stood waiting, feet close together, hands clasped.

"Shen!" she cried, and she and Shen embraced. "You made it."

Everybody took a moment to greet the strangers, but were interrupted by the front door, which opened so suddenly everyone jumped. Nurik Sandral emerged, flanked by two battle droids. A moment later, Ahlan Matale appeared from behind the hills and arrived with his own armed droids.

"Nurik!" snarled Ahlan.

"Ahlan!" barked Nurik.

"Father!" cried Shen.

"Shen!" yelled Ahlan.

"Father!" shouted Rahasia.

"Rahasia!" called Nurik.

"I should have known you'd taken my son, Nurik!"

"You took my boy from me long before that!" Nurik growled.

"I did nothing of the sort! Had you not kidnapped Shen, this never would have —"

"Stop it!" Alora yelled suddenly. "Both of you! This isn't helping anything!"

"Don't tell me to stop, Jedi!" spat Ahlan. "I do not take orders from you!"

A wicked expression sparked on Alora's face. She drew her lightsaber. "You will if you want to survive this reunion," she said in a low voice unlike her own.

"Alora, no!" Jarek cried, pushing her arm down. "What are you doing?" Alora came back to her senses and silenced her lightsaber. Ahlan, it appeared, had backed away a few steps.

"She's right, Father," said Shen. "We don't need to fight!"

"Nurik, you've brainwashed my child! Shen, he kidnapped you from me! Didn't you ever realize this?"

"I want to be with Rahasia," said Shen defiantly.

"You fool boy! You will never run away with that Sandral harlot!"

"I will, Father, and you can't stop me!"

Rahasia and Shen ran. Before their fathers could react, they had fled over the hills.

"Look what you've done, Nurik!"

"What _I've _done?! You were the one who took my son from _me_ first! You should have known the consequences, Ahlan."

"I will not listen to this nonsense!" barked Ahlan. "Because of you, my son has run away."

"_Your_ _son? _What about my daughter?!"

"You can live without her," said Ahlan coldly. "We all can."

"How dare you! Droids, attack!" Nurik yelled.

"Don't even think about —" Ahlan began, but was cut off. He was hit by several blaster bolts in the chest and fell to the ground, dead.

Ahlan's droids sprang to life as their master was killed.

"Master has been injured," said the emotionless, automated voice. "Return fire!"

Mr. Matale's droids fired at Nurik, who was hit several times and died before he could react. It was only a moment before a massive firefight began. Alora and the others dove out of the way and she watched, horror-struck, as the droids finished each other off. In the end, they were all destroyed.

Alora had her hand over her mouth for a long, silent moment after that. Nobody spoke.

_Do you see what love can do to a person and even their family? _Bastila's voice echoed in Jarek's head.

_If the families hadn't been fighting, it wouldn't have come to this. Rahasia and Shen would be living in their own home by now and their fathers would have been proud of them. Not all love is bad._

"Should we tell them?" said Carth, unsure.

"I couldn't," Alora replied. "They'll...they'll find out."

Everyone agreed.

"Well," said Jarek, "I think I've had enough of a break for today, you?"

Alora nodded silently, and the five of them set off to the _Ebon Hawk. _Carth, Bastila, Alora, and Jarek all headed immediately to the cockpit.

"Where to next?" Jarek asked.

"I've been thinking Tatooine," said Carth.

"You're right," sighed Jarek. "We should just get it out of the way. Full speed ahead."

And so ends Chapter Six. Part 1 of Tatooine is _next _chapter. Yes, I'm sure.

Questions? Suggestions? E-mail me! lbartell (at) sbcglobal (dot) net ...


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